I think a lot about food. Recently I was reflecting about the transformation of food in my life. Growing up on a dairy farm and with a mother that was a fabulous cook, good fresh food was always available. In addition to our endless supply of raw milk, we had a huge vegetable garden and occasionally we would butcher a cow to fill our freezer. Everything was homemade.
As kids watching the ads on TV, we longed for Chef Boy R Dee Ravioli instead of Mom’s Goulash, French’s Au Gratin Potatoes instead of Mom’s Scalloped Potatoes and more then anything else, we wanted the famous Swanson TV dinners! We thought the nifty tray’s they were packaged in were super cool, and you could eat them while watching TV, which was not allowed in our home.
Our Grandparents lived in a small town 30 miles away. We would visit at least once a week, where a candy dish awaited our arrival. After receiving our treat, we were immediately sent outside to play. Although they were strict, they loved us and often filled our wishes as a sign of their affection. One week-end, we had a sleep-over at their home, a huge treat in itself. At dinner time we were instructed to wash-up, get our pajamas on and then come down for dinner. This was not the usual protocol, but you never questioned. When we came down for dinner there were our TV trays with our TV dinners set atop! All this, complete with the “Lawerence Welk Show”! We were elated!
The next time we visited our grandparents and many times thereafter, we were treated to TV Dinners! This was not in keeping with our grandparents frugal beliefs. Gradually the shinny silver trays faded and their sturdiness lessened. It took awhile before we caught on to fact that – Grandma was washing the trays. She would then make one of her many delicious dishes, complete with all the trimmings and fill each individual compartment, cover with foil and freeze. Pretty smart grandma.
Packaged foods have come along way since I was a kid. There actually was nutritional food value in some of the earlier packaged products. Today the food value is printed on the outside of the box with; “Daily supply of Vitamin C”, ” Extra Vitamin D”, leaving the food ingredients as an unpronounceable filler. This is evident in the price too, a chicken pot pie for $0.99 – really? In 1960 Americans spent 18% of their income on food and 5% on health care. Today we spend 9% on food and 17% on health care. Hmmmm.
My mother and grandmother new better, and although they were frugal they knew where to put their money. I am so grateful for the importance they taught me on using fresh ingredients, the real taste of homemade, and the irreplaceable value of the family meal, individually compartmentalized or otherwise.
Thank you, Jill; that was lovely. Mom would be so pleased. Being my Mother’s daughter, I had never eaten a “TV Dinner,” either. In fact, “fast food,” in the Mosey home, was cold cereal – that’s about as convenient as it got. Funny how I took all those traditions, with me, even baking all my own bread, canning and freezing, preserving and pickling when you kids were little. Friends nowadays often ask me “how did you ever do all that, with five little kids and the oldest only four?” Honestly, it never seemed difficult at all – long days, yes, but not difficult.
Thanks Jill! Now THAT is a great story! I too spent many evenings in front of Lawrence at Grandma’s. I too thought TV dinners were the thing… America has a lot of teaching to do about food, eh? And even more, how we produce and market it. You guys have it – a quality operation and respectfulness to the whole circle. Thanks for leading the way.
So cute! Grandmas are the best. I remember those Saturday nights at Grandmas watching Lawrence Welk, The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. lol
Fantastic story..and one I plan to use with my grandkids…:)
BTW…Lawrence Welk was one of the few shows we could watch back then. Of course, there were not that many to choose from.
I too thought Grandma & Grandpa were rich to afford such treats as T.V. dinners. Now it’s 3 for $10.00, which gives the allusion of a bargain, but it has no value; nutritionally or economically. Eventually we all pay.
Thanks for the comments.
Jill, great story. That brought back so many wonderful memories. I too remember the first time we had a tv dinner at Grandma’s. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I remember thinking Grandma and Grandpa must be rich. Then when we found out Grandma was washing the trays and putting in her own yummy dinners, I still didn’t mind. There was just something about eating out of that silver tray, drinking out of the colored tin glasses and getting to watch Lawrence Welk. Yes, those were the days my friend. I too am so grateful for have a Grandmother and Mother who knew how to make a fabulous meal, set a beautiful table and always made sure we had good manners. So important and something you don’t see very often anymore. Thanks for a great story and a wonderful memory.
Jill, thanks for recalling such a great memory. I remember how excited we were when we saw the tv tables going up. It goes to show you it truly is the little things in life.
Great story Jill. It strikes me as funny because, my kids too, when they see those (horrific) TV dinners in the grocery store – cannot understand why I won’t buy them. To which my reply is never more than “ew, no.”
On a totally different note I have to say the buffalo jerky is the best thing I ate in the month of March. Not kidding you. And the pepper sticks – don’t even get me started on those bad boys…
This is really a great story! What tricky grandparents you had! This story is the perfect introduction to an issue that has recently been on my mind…
As we all know, there is a new food system movement that champions locally and organically raised food (of which Wild Idea Buffalo is a perfect example!). However, along with the movement come questions of accessibility. The majority of the people involved in the movement are middle to upper class, many of them Caucasians. Many arguments about why there is not a more socioeconomic and ethnically diverse group of people involved in the movement cite the lack of education. Many arguments go as follows: “if they only knew where their food was coming from, what sorts of scary things were in their food, they would change their eating habits.” I myself have been guilty of this reasoning.
Julie Guthman, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Studies at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, brings the ideas of “color blindness” and “universalism” to light in her journal article ” ‘If They Only Knew’: Color Blindness and Universalism in California Alternative Food Institutions.” She states that there is a “disproportionately low participation of people of color” in alternative food institutions and that the whites in these food institutions do not acknowledge these racial differences for fear of being a racist (“color blindness”). She also argues that one manifestation of whiteness is “universalism,” which assumes that the values held by whites are “normal and widely shared,” and that if you do not share these values, you must be educated.
Community food initiatives like farmer’s markets and CSA’s have been slow to address issues of color. How can we make these traditionally white institutions become more accepting and encouraging to those of different ethnicities and socioeconomic classes? Additionally, and certainly the larger question, are these food systems for which we are advocating truly universal? The beliefs of Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Sharon Astyk’s and Aaron Newton’s Nation of Farmers, Marion Nestle’s What to Eat, and yours and mine are not necessarily the beliefs of the entire Unite States (or the world for that matter). Guthman (and I will piggy back along with her) does not seek to discourage activists, but simply to encourage a deeper thinking of the traditional definitions of “correct” when applied to an alternative food system and allow others ideas to be included, and indeed instrumental, in the creation of that system.