Food and Nutrition through the 21st Century: The Consumer
Created by Health Science Librarians
The Grocery Store
Over the last couple of centuries, grocery stores have grown from public markets to small, locally-owned stores to grocery store chains and supermarkets.
J.L West Grocery Store in Albemarle, NC (1920s)
Source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center & Stanly County Museum
Inside the City Market in Brevard, NC (1920s)
Source: Courtesy of the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library & North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
A modern grocery store
Source: Morgue File Photos
- Grocery Stores (Encylopedia entry)From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
- Food Environment AtlasAn interactive map of the United States with data on grocery store availability, food assistance, access and proximity to a grocery store, local foods, and socioeconomic and health statistics.
Cookbooks
- Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook ProjectA digital collection of the most important and influential American cookbooks from the 18th to early 20th century.
- Early Cookery Books and American TasteExamples of cookbooks from as early as the 1500s to World War I from the Cornell University Library.
- Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1923)Fourth edition of the famous Boston Cooking-School Cookbook by Fannie Farmer, an American culinary expert. Farmer provided scientific explanations of the chemical processes behind cooking, and helped to standardize measurements used in the USA.
- Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook (Limited preview)The first edition of this cookbook was published in 1950, and quickly became a national best-seller.
- The Story of Crisco CookbookPublished in 1914, this cookbook features recipes using Crisco, a new highly "digestible, economical, and better tasting" ingredient. Scroll down to page 9 for the story of Crisco.
Food Advertisements through the Century
- Vintage Food AdvertisementsA collection of food ads from the 1840s to 2000s.
- Bizarre Food AdvertisementsA funny collection of vintage food ads from Huffington Post.