Not only was it necessary for wartime homemakers to pack lunches for themselves to take to defense jobs and for their children to carry to school, but many homemakers also participated in government-supported community programs, in which they produced thousands of sandwiches for troops being moved around the country or arriving home by ship. In addition, magazines frequently carried articles suggesting that sweets from home were the very best present to send to servicemen both in the United States and abroad.
As soon as America went to war, lunch box packing became a creative endeavor. Homemakers were reminded that the future of the country was in their hands as they packed lunches for family members to take to their defense jobs and children to take to school. Lunches had to meet government nutrition guidelines, stay safe and palatable when stored at room temperature for four or more hours, complement the other meals in the day, provide daily variety, be convenient to eat, and please the person for whom it had been packed—a big order. The accepted formula was to include either hot soup or a nutritious hot drink in a thermos bottle; two different high-protein sandwiches on whole-grain bread; crisp fresh vegetables; a cupcake, cookie, turnover, or other sweet; and a piece of fresh fruit. Sandwich fillings incorporated bits of meat or cheese with a wide variety of chopped or grated fresh vegetables. Workers might open their lunch box to find Liverwurst and Celery, Bologna and Cabbage, Ham and Cucumber, Cheese and Nut, Peanut Butter and Orange, Dried-Beef and Cheese, or Bacon and Celery Spread Sandwiches for variety.
Homemakers needed help with their new lunch box responsibilities, and the food departments of women’s magazines immediately offered assistance. The Good Housekeeping Institute experimented with sandwich fillings and recommended that sandwiches could be made in the evening and refrigerated overnight to save time in the morning. The same precision went into their testing of cookie recipes to be shipped abroad. Cookies were packed using their special packing instructions, shipped 2,000 miles, and then tasted.
The first part of this chapter offers the components of generously packed lunches—soup, salads, sandwiches, and portable pastries, while treats that travel without crumbling (in boxes filled with homemade popcorn) complete the selection.
