Grocery prices in summer 1955

This ad from the Royal Blue in Mt. Morris might make your mouth water thinking about steaks on the grill at $.59 a lb., or bacon at $.47 with your eggs.  Royal Blue was a midwestern chain begun in the 1920s which lasted (by name) into the 1970s.  (I have no memory of this store--where was it?) However, I checked the USDA statistics on percentage of disposable income spent on food both at home and away from home, and today's American family has a much better deal.  In 1957 15% of the family food dollar went for food at home, and 3.4% for away from home, for a total of 18.4%.  In 2008 (last year for which there were figures) only 5.6% of disposable income was spent on food at home, 4% away from home, for a total of 9.6%, or about half what Americans spent in 1957.  (In Canada the at home figure was 9.3% in 2008.) That's really amazing. What isn't so surprising is the shift to away from home eating in total percent spent on food--from about 22% to over 40%. 

However, think of this.  According to the journal PLoS One, we Americans waste 40% of our food--that's counting at every stage, not just down the garbage disposal--harvest, warehouse loss, market spoilage, restaurant trash and then the typical household discards.  Even with all that waste, food today is an excellent value for the consumer. But couldn't we all do better?

I don't know about your mom, but at the Corbett household on Hannah Avenue, not much was wasted. The summer garden produce of the 1940s and 1950s was stored in those beautiful jars in the basement, and the scraps were returned to the earth; most of the time at our house there were no "left-overs" because Mom gauged the right amount; our worn out play clothes were cut into strips and crocheted into area rugs; doll clothes were made from pieces left over from our home sewn dresses; those of us who had older sisters and brothers got a "new" outfit when they outgrew them; the carpenter/plumber/repair person that was called at our house was my mother and she also hung the storm windows; the weed killer for the lawn was my brother and me digging them out. 

Drool over 55 year old grocery ads if you wish, but when you do, remember the real costs and the personal labor that went into it.  I sort of like spending 20 minutes preparing dinner so I have more time to do other things--like writing blogs.