Could You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?

The Survival Mom

With all the talk about food storage and growing our own food, I did a little digging around to find out what some people ate during America’s Great Depression of the 1930?s. Surprisingly, a few of these were made by my mother and grandmother, traditions, I’m sure, from a more frugal era. I still have a soft spot for Chipped Beef on Toast! How many of these are familiar to you, and do you have any others to add to the list?

  • Milk toast
  • Chipped beef on toast
  • Cucumber and mustard sandwiches
  • Mayonnaise sandwiches
  • Ketchup sandwiches
  • Hot milk and rice
  • Turtle/tortoise
  • Gopher
  • Potato soup – water base, not milk
  • Dandelion salad
  • Lard sandwiches
  • Bacon grease sandwiches
  • Sugar sandwiches
  • Hot dogs and baked beans
  • Road kill
  • One eyed Sam – piece of bread with an easy over egg in the center
  • Oatmeal mixed with lard
  • Fried potatoes and hot dogs
  • Onion sandwich – slices of onion between bread
  • Tomato gravy and biscuits
  • Deep fried chicken skin
  • Cornbread in milk
  • Gravy and bread – as a main dish
  • Toast with mashed potatoes on top with gravy
  • Creamed corn on toast
  • Corn mush with milk for breakfast, fried corn mush for dinner
  • Squirrel
  • Rice in milk with some sugar
  • Beans
  • Fried potato peel sandwiches
  • Banana slices with powdered sugar and milk
  • Boiled cabbage
  • Hamburger mixed with oatmeal
  • American cheese sandwich, ‘American’ cheese was invented because it was cheap to make, and didn’t require refrigeration that may or may not exist back then.

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