1930’s to 1940’s Foods The 1930’s to 40’s played a major role in our food history. The 1930’s to the 1940’s introduced us to a lot of different foods that we have grown to love today. Don’t get me wrong the 30’s and 40’s were a difficult time for a lot of people because of the Depression but, it was the beginning for a lot of foods, product inventions, new laws being passed, new businesses, and much more. We will be discussing the birth of candies, businesses opened, new laws passed, famous people, typical meals and foods, and foods that we still see today. The Great Depression may have dampened moods at the beginning of the 1930s, but oh, 1930s candy surely sweetened us right back up. 1930 M&M/Mars introduced to us the Snickers Bar, which was named for a favorite horse owned by the Mars family. 1931 Tootsie Roll Pops are introduced and was soon advertised as the lollipop that offers two candies in one hard candy on the outside and chewy Tootsie Roll in the inside. 1932 MARS Almond Bar introduced by M&M/MARS then debuted the 3 Musketeers Bar later that year, originally made as three-flavor bar featuring chocolate, vanilla and strawberry nougat. It was later changed to all chocolate nougat in 1945. The 5th Avenue Bar was invented in 1936 by the man best known for making cough drops - William H. Luden. The candy bar was made from layers of peanut butter crunch coated in a milk chocolate. Kit Kat candy bars were invented in 1935 by a company in York, England called Roundtree. Roundtree was acquired by Nestle in 1988. In 1938 Hershey announced a candy bar that was made with milk chocolate and Rice Krispies; they called it the Krackel Bar which late became the Nestle Crunch Bar. Hershey produced a unique chocolate bar called the D Bar in 1940 which was high in calories, designed as a survival helping for soldiers. It was wrapped in wax paper so that it would be resistant to poisonous gas, and to prevent soldiers from eating it too fast, it had a bittersweet flavor. Other candies that were introduced in that time period were Boston Baked Beans, Chick-O-Stick, Life Saver 5 Flavor Roll, Pay Day, Red Hots, Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddy, Wax Lips, Whoppers, and Zagnuts.
Let’s talk about business that started between 1930 and 1940’s. The first King Kullen supermarket opened in Queens, New York on Aug 4, 1930. It was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as "America's First Supermarket” it was founded by Michael J. Cullen. The first Publix grocery store was opened in a small town called Winter Haven, Florida by George W. Jenkins. Jenkins walked away from the security of a good job to open the first Publix store. Ocean Spray was formed in 1930 by three cranberry growers who really loved their cranberries. They first introduced Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail that year. Established in 1933 and headquartered in Modesto, California, E. & J. Gallo Winery which still remains a privately-held winery. It wasn’t until 1939-40 the winery acquired bottling plants and begins marketing wine under its own name. On July 18, 1936, Oscar Mayer Corp. rolled out its Wienermobile, a giant hot dog on a truck and driven to parades and festivals which was invented by Oscar’s nephew, Carl G. Mayer. The next year on July 13, 1937, the first Krispy Kreme store opened for business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A few years later, a father and son John & Alex McCullough who had been experimenting with a soft serve dairy product introduced us to the first Dairy Queen store opened in Joliet, Illinois in 1940.
In 1930 The Tariff Act was introduced which prohibits imports of meat and animals from countries infected with foot and mouth disease. Later in 1933 the first farm bill was passed by Congress called the Agricultural Adjustment Act to maintain balance between production and consumption of agricultural commodities. In 1934 authorized appropriations for research to eliminate disease from beef and dairy herds which was called the Jones-Connally