Food Matters

In January 1926, the secretary of the College Board, the Rev J. G. Georg, appealed to members of the Lutheran Church to continue supplying gifts in kind to Concordia’s kitchen. The following requirements were listed as necessary to cater for the 62 boarders, all boys and young men.

90 tins (4 gallons) of jam, 14 tins of honey, 4 ¼ tons of potatoes, 44 pounds of butter per week, 200 pounds of meat per week, 200 pounds of flour, one 70-pound bag of sugar per week, 400 tins of preserved fruit (for serving once a week) and 40 tons of firewood.

This list did not include the required amount of fresh bread, vegetables and other necessary items. There was also a gentle reminder that gifts of tins of jam supplied in drums should not include any leftover kerosene!

The 1928 Brown and Gold magazine included a heartfelt tribute to the kitchen staff.
‘One of the most important organizations to be found at Concordia is the kitchen staff. This body daily carries out the big task of providing for the inner needs of vigorous healthy appetites.’ A decade or so later, during World War II, food coupons were introduced. The result was that not everyone was happy with the quality and quantity of the meals served.
In 1943 a student reported that:
‘Sometimes we seem to get much delight from comparing a piece of tough meat (the sheep’s fault!) to camel-hide or horse-saddle, but generally this topic is concluded by expressions of satisfaction that we are not in Britain where food coupons are exhausted all too soon. We know the kitchen staff will do their best to keep us marching, for we believe: We can live without friends, we can live without books,
But civilized man cannot live without cooks!’

The photo shows the 1924 domestic staff.