One of the projects of the Works Progress Administration was to assign several writers and photographers to document how and what Americans were eating in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. However, the WPA program was ended before the material that had been created could be published. Some of this material has been lost, but much of what remains has been included in this book. Willard traveled around the country to see if any of these food-ways and traditions remain. She has grouped the field reports and photographs into different categories, and occasionally by region. Some of the categories include fund-raising dinners, agricultural fairs, and church dinners, among others.
The WPA people were sent all over the country, in an attempt to get as wide a variety of information as possible. And there was a wide variety, in the ingredients, in the manner of cooking, and in the presentation of the meal. The information in America Eats! deals with communal meals, as opposed to family meals. Some were relatively small groups, but others were huge, with literal tons of ingredients being used. While the reasons for putting on these feasts varied, one thing that was consistent was the pride people took in preparing food the best way they knew how. Willard discovered that some of these traditions remain, but many have not survived. This is due to factors such as increased urbanization, and the ubiquity of prepared foods. In other words, we don’t often need to feed people from our neighborhood who have just helped us raise our barn, and taking a whole day (or two) to prepare food for a crowd just does not happen very often these days.
While the WPA explicitly planned to avoid printing any recipes, Willard has included a few, either from current contributors, information gleaned from other sources, or her own knowledge. Most look like they would turn out well, but a few are for a large quantity of food, so if you want to try them, you might want to adjust the quantity of ingredients. The author mentions that some of the events detailed in the WPA records really could not happen today, due to food safety concerns, among other issues. But another reason some of these communal meals disappeared may have more to do with other societal changes. Women were instrumental in many (but not all) of these events. More women are in the paid workforce now, and may not have time to take off to prepare a huge meal with traditional methods.
If this was your family, how would you research them? If you live in an area where some of these food traditions survive, then you may not be surprised with the deep roots some of them have. Do you have any records of your family participating in any of these? Check for family recipes that may have been handed down, although many may not have been written down! And are there any events in your area which traditional communal meal? Some may now involve professional cooks, but some do still exist. And check old cookbooks, some of which were published as fundraisers for churches or other groups.