The Food of a Younger Land with a Depression Cake Recipe
In the 1930s, Americans still ate mostly local, seasonal food prepared in traditional fashion. That was all soon to change. The national highway system enabled goods to travel across country quickly. Refrigerators and freezers were becoming commonplace in ordinary homes. Madison Avenue found new advertising techniques to convince consumers to buy processed, packaged foods. Old traditions were dying out fast and the unique flavors of the different regions of the United States would soon find competition with the blander, more uniform flavors of chain restaurants.
The Work Projects Administration assigned writers to document local recipes and food customs from all over the United States in an effort to preserve a moment in history — as well as employ writers who would otherwise have starved during the Great Depression. The writings were to have been collected in a single volume called America Eats, but with World War II, the economy improved and writers no longer had to be dependent on the government for employment. The notes and essays sat in storage for many years. Mark Kurlansky, author of many acclaimed nonfiction books, including Cod and Salt, selected several of the writings from America Eats for the The Food of a Younger Land.
