The Great Depression was a fascinating time People everywhere learned to make do or do

and a turning point for food culture in without, and that led to some very creative
America. During this infamous time in and resourceful meals that were comprised
American history when people were literally of a mishmash of whatever ingredients one
starving, cheap, high calorie foods (often of happened to have on hand.
the commercially produced variety) were
prioritized at the expense of freshness and While some were surely rather tasty, others
flavour. were palatable at best and downright gag-
worthy at worst. But as anyone who lived
Meals were simple and meant to fill bellies. through the Great Depression knows, when
They weren’t intended to be savoured or you’re hungry, you’ll eat anything.
enjoyed, but rather to stave off the
unrelenting hunger pangs that plagued whole Most meals during the Great Depression
families in these hard times. were made from some combination of basic
foods and pantry staples, including
One’s diet during the depression depended
largely on where they lived. City folk were, of
course, unable to produce their own food, so • Bread • Hotdog wieners
they depended by and large on cheap, • Flour • Lard
commercially produced foods, soup kitchens • Potatoes • Gelatin
and bread lines to provide for them. • Onions • Peanut Butter
• Salt & Pepper • Crackers
Rural folk were moderately better off because • Sugar • Basic spices
they could produce much of the food their • Canned meat (cinnamon,
family needed, however the double whammy • Canned nutmeg and
of the dust bowl phenomenon that coincided vegetables cloves were most
with the depression made it practically • Dried beans common)
impossible to grow food in large parts of rural
North America too.
The following is a sampling of 25 frugal and The broth was typically just water with a little
fascinating foods that became popular during salt and pepper (broth was a luxury,
the Great Depression. especially chicken broth, since meat was
unaffordable for most people).
While you probably won’t want to try most of
them, at worst you’ll have a list of Then into the hot broth went raw eggs, which
desperation meals you can glean inspiration cooked quickly once they hot the hot water. If
from if a depression-era scenario ever you were lucky enough to have onions and
happens again, and at best you’ll likely find potatoes, you could add those too.
yourself feeling a little more grateful than
normal for the food in your own home pantry. The soup was then served in a bowl or
spooned over basic white bread or toast.

25 Frugal & Fascinating Foods 4. Prune Pudding

From the Great Depression Rehydrated prunes, chopped and cooked
with sugar, cinnamon and a little flour or corn
starch. Left to chill and served cold.

1. Creamed Chipped 5. Corned Beef

Beef on Toast Luncheon Salad
Dried, salted meat in a simple butter, flour Canned corned beef in plain gelatin with
and cream roux, served over toast (or canned peas, vinegar and lemon juice.
alternatively, potatoes). Topped with a little Mayonnaise and eggs if you were lucky. It
salt, pepper and fresh parsley if you were looks about how it sounds, and it probably
lucky to have access to some. This dish was tastes about the same.
popular during the depression and was
served in both world wars to soldiers who
dubbed it “S.O.S.” or “Shit On A Shingle.”
6. Peanut Butter and
Mayonnaise
2. White Sauce Sandwiches
White sauce was a versatile, alfredo-esque Peanut butter and mayonnaise on white
sauce that was used on everything from bread kept many families afloat in the south
pasta to potatoes to bread. A basic sauce during the depression years. Peanut butter
made from flour, butter or margarine, milk or and pickle sandwiches were also popular at
water, salt and a pepper. Low in flavour, high this time.
in calories.
7. Ketchup Sandwiches
3. Egg Drop Soup
Condiments were popular during the
While the Chinese version of eggs drop soup depression because they added welcome
is flavourful and delicious, depression-era flavour to otherwise bland and boring foods
egg drop soup was, like most things, on the like plain white bread. Ketchup sandwiches
bland side. were no exception.
8. Fried Onion or stewed tomatoes, canned corn, peas or
Potato Peel beans.
Sandwiches This dish was named after President Hoover,
who took office just before the stock market
Since onions and potatoes were a cheap, crash of 1929 set off the beginning of the
versatile pantry staples, they played more Great Depression. It was often enjoyed by
than a supporting role in some popular families living in the shantytowns, aka.
dishes of the time, including fried onion and/ “Hoovervilles” that popped up in cities during
or potato peel sandwiches. Now just add a the depression.
little ketchup and mayonnaise and you’re off
to the races! (Hold the peanut butter).
[Link] Casserole
9. Poor Man’s Meal Balogna was combined with peppers, onions,
canned pork or chilli and beans and cheddar.
Speaking of hot dogs, since wieners were Balogna casserole is definitely one of the
cheap and processed, they were popular fancier and more flavourful depression-era
during the Great Depression. This dish, made dishes on this list!
of sliced hot dog wieners, potatoes and fried
onions actually sounds rather tasty. Then [Link] Butter
again, that’s not all that difficult when you’re
up against Corned Beef Luncheon Salad and
Stuffed Onions
Shit On a Shingle.
Baked onions stuffed with peanut butter were
[Link] Stew recommended to students by home
economics teachers during the Great
Depression as a simple dish that would help
Mulligan Stew was said to have been stretch a dime around the block and back.
invented by the homeless in the early 1900s,
and gained popularity for obvious reasons
during the depression. The stew was a
[Link]
community meal cooked over an open fire
and made with a mish-mash of whatever Invented by scientists at Cornell University in
ingredients people had on hand to throw in. the early 1930s, Milkorno was a type of gruel
made from dried milk powder and cornmeal.
Anything and everything from meat and It was eaten on its own or with a little sugar,
potatoes to bread, onions, rice, beans, much like oatmeal, or added to other recipes
tomatoes, carrots, pasta, flour… There are to help make them stretch. Other popular
even accounts of people adding sawdust and spinoffs included Milkoato and Milkwheato,
lint to make the soup more filling, and adding made with oats and wheat in place of
tobacco for flavouring. cornmeal, respectively.

Can you even imagine?? [Link] and Milk

[Link] Stew In dustbowl country, people ate popcorn with
milk in place of cereal. Since popcorn was
cheap at 5 to 10 cents per bag, it helped
Hoover stew was a simple stew made with
families stretch their food budget in
noodles (usually spaghetti or macaroni
desperate times.
noodles), sliced hot dog wieners, canned
[Link] Salad [Link] Plate
While fresh produce was hard to come by Macaroni salad, fried potatoes, beans and
during the depression, dandelion greens sausage or hamburger meat topped with
were plentiful in yards, parks and grassy onions, ketchup and mustard. It looks like
fields across America as much during the garbage on a plate and it helped see many
depression as they are still today. A simple Americans through the Great Depression. It
salad could be made by gathering dandelion also sounds like it probably tastes pretty
greens and tossing with a little lemon juice or good, and the fact that it’s still served in
vinegar, oil and salt. diners in Rochester, NY is at very least, a
testament to its decency.
[Link] Loaf
[Link] Water Pie &
Meat was hard to come by during the great Vinegar Pie
depression, and while meatloaf was a
popular dish that helped stretch any meat Hot Water Pie is as basic as it gets when it
people were able to get their hands on, often comes to pie-baking. A basic pie crust filled
times people had to get creative with their with a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs and
substitutions. boiling water to make a custard filling. Simple
and satisfying for your sweet tooth in a pinch.
Meatless loaves gained popularity, and were
made by stuffing just about anything one Similar to Hot Water Pie, Vinegar Pie was
could get their hands on into a loaf pan, commonly known as “Desperation Pie”
including but not limited to bread, crackers, because it could be made from very
liver, leftovers, lima beans, raisins and even inexpensive ingredients. The filling was made
peanuts. with apple cider vinegar, eggs, flour, sugar,
salt, water and cinnamon and nutmeg if they
[Link] Pancakes were available.

Due to the relative affordability and [Link] Cold Milk

availability of potatoes during the depression and/or Coffee Soup
years, potato pancakes gained in popularity
during this time. They were either made with
Even inherently resourceful Amish
eggs and flour used as binding agents or
communities struggled during the Great
were simply fried mashed potatoes if those
Depression and had to get extra
extra ingredients weren’t available or
creative to keep their bellies full.
accessible.
Two such dishes were cold milk
soup and coffee soup. Cold milk
[Link] Tumbleweeds soup was made with milk,
sliced bananas and sugar
In dustbowl country, agriculture came to a (much like a bowl of
screeching halt and fruit and vegetables cereal without
ceased to grow in the arid, drought-ridden the cereal),
ground. But tumbleweeds were alive and and coffee
well, so in desperation, people used to brine soup was made
tumbleweed leaves, as well as lamb’s with coffee, cream
quarters, and can them to eat in winter. and sugar and
bread or crackers.
[Link] Apple Pie What we can learn from the
During the Depression, people commonly men, women and families who
used Ritz crackers in place of apples in their
pie. So this was basically a basic pie crust survived the Great Depression
filled with Ritz crackers tossed with
cinnamon, butter, sugar, water and cream of Desperate times call for desperate measures.
tartar, and supposedly it tastes surprisingly At no time in history was this more apparent
like apple pie! than during the Great Depression. The
“desperation” meals listed above saw many a
[Link] Cake family through the worst economic hard times
in American history, and although some of
them sound more like they’d trigger your gag
This milkless, eggless, butterless cake has reflex as opposed to filling your belly, they’re
also been dubbed “boiled raisin cake” or a testament to the resourcefulness of the
“poor man’s cake,” it’s made with flour, water, men and women who survived and raised
baking soda, sugar, shortening, raisins, families during the 1930s in America.
spices (cinnamon and cloves) and a dash of
salt. Looking back on these foods, we can glean
inspiration from the creativity that ensued
[Link] Carrots and when people were forced to come up with
Spaghetti in White meal ideas using only the few scarce
Sauce ingredients they happened to have on hand.

While we might not care to replicate many of

Eleanor Roosevelt became the First Lady a
the dishes today, we might suddenly see our
couple years into the depression and
own pantry ingredients in a new light.
American wives and homemakers naturally
looked up to her to help them through hard
At the very least, the next time you open your
times. She famously recommended this dish,
pantry door only to find “nothing to eat,”
which is made by boiling carrots and pasta
perhaps you’ll remember this list and instead
noodles for 25 minutes and then baking them
see a world of potential in the ingredients
with white sauce (see above) until everything
before you. And you’ll feel grateful that at
became one mushy, flavourless casserole.
least you don’t have to eat sawdust, lint and
tobacco soup or Shit On a Shingle for supper.
Yummy.