BECOMING SHOPPERS: NC Food Consumption and Production
Left Behind
Although many North Carolina families had moved off of farms by the 1950s and 1960s, many of those still living on farms remained in even deeper poverty than they had in decades past. As of 1960, despite steady decreases in the number of North Carolina farms, the state still had the largest farming population in the country. Many of these farmers, however, were living in poverty. Whereas small commercial farms could once turn a profit (however small), there was increasingly little room for small-scale production in the increasingly industrial food economy.
Moreover, as the food shopping habits and needs of urban and suburban families diverged further and further from those of farm families, rural North Carolinians' poverty became increasingly hidden. Extension agents, however, continued working with rural people for whom canning, home butchering, and dirt ditch storage pits were still a necessity. The chart below, taken from the 1950 census, shows how many farm households at the beginning of this period still lived without household amenities that we consider essential today.
Percentage of North Carolina Farm Households Without Certain Household Amenities, 1950
| Household Amenity | Total Farm Households | Non-white Farm Households |
|---|---|---|
| electric lights | 23.3% | 42.2% |
| refrigerator, any | 35.2% | 55.0% |
| refrigerator, mechanical (not electric) |
49.5% | 84.0% |
| kitchen sink | 65.0% | 93.0% |
| piped running water | 67.9% | 92.0% |
| toilet | 13.2% | 16.6% |
| automobile | 51.5% | |
| phone | 91.9% | |
| home freezer | 94.9% | |
| washing machine | 54.1% | |
| electric water pump | 75.4% | |
| electric water heater | 90.6% |
Raise a Square Meal Around Home, 1957
The Entension Service bagan to emphasize planning more than ever. This planning chart was designed to help families achieve home food production of 85 to 90% of a family's annual food needs. Note that the annual predicted amount of fat eaten by one person was 23 pounds.
Family Food Conservation Plan for a Year, 1968
Families were encouraged to track the amount of food frozen, canned, brined (which is to soak in very salty water, often with vinegar), dried, or stored. This was so that they would know if they had preserved enough food for the winter.
Home Storage of Vegetables and Fruits, 1958
Flip to pages 8 and 9 to see how foods could be kept in covered pits in the ground. Some foods could be preserved simply by keeping them in a cool, dry place. Such home storage could be an alternative to canning and freezing.
If You Choose to Eat Good Frozen Pork... Catch the Freshness and Hold It!, 1961
While most Nort Carolinians were buying their meat at the butcher by 1961, some families still butchered their own animals. This light-hearted pamphlet makes several recommendations to get "fresh flavor" from a freshley killed pig.
Facts Relating to Home Food Supply, 1962
Citing the fact that North Carolina had the largest farm population of any state despite annual decreases in the number of farm families, this internal report to Extension Service home agents suggested ways agents might encourage families to produce and conserve food at home.