With the economic downturn during the Great Depression and food rationing during World War II, Americans needed to find creative ways to feed their families. The Los Altos History Museum delves into the two time periods and their effects on eating in its upcoming exhibition, “Fabulous Food of the ’30s and ’40s: From Hunger to Hope,” on display July 14 through Aug. 28 in the J. Gilbert Smith House Gallery.
The exhibition focuses on how processed and convenience foods rose in popularity, including Spam, Bisquick, JELL-O, Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes. Visitors will see cooking utensils used and recipes created, such as flour and water for bread when eggs and butter became unavailable. Cookbooks will be showcased, including J. Gilbert Smith’s wife Margaret Smith’s “Piggly Wiggly” cookbook. War ration books used during WWII are also part of the display.
“There are a lot of parallels in recipes between then and now,” said Jordan Grealish, museum collections specialist and co-curator of the exhibition along with Sharon Barkoff. “As supply chains shut down during the pandemic, we’re making some of the same dishes with the same ingredients. It’s interesting how history repeats itself, and how food items popular during the ’30s and ’40s are still popular today.”
Visitors to the museum’s Apricot STEM Fair, scheduled 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 16, will be able to view the exhibition. Food of the ’30s and ’40s leveraged some of the scientific and engineering advances made in the early 20th century, such as freezing, dehydrating and preserving. Food technology will be explored with hands-on activities during the fair.
“Fabulous Food of the ’30s and ’40s” is on display noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Free docent-led tours of the J. Gilbert Smith House are also available during open hours.
The Los Altos History Museum is located at 51 S. San Antonio Road.
For more information, visit losaltoshistory.org.
