by Rebecca Hightower
On November 11 the Ingram Library’s Penelope Melson Society welcomed Dr. Jennifer Jensen Wallach of the University of North Texas as she presented a program entitled “Rationing for Victory: Food as a Weapon on the Home Front in World War II.”
The program received support from the Carroll EMC Foundation, the Georgia Humanities Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.
Dr. Wallach pointed out that while we are all familiar with the iconic Rosie the Riveter icon, the majority of American women did not serve on industrial lines during the war, but were instead called upon to aid the war effort by controlling their families food consumption. She addressed the American governments federal food policy, which aimed at encouraging women to portion food differently based on gender, and to encourage rationing and victory gardens. She pointed out that while most Americans are familiar with the iconic Rosie the Riveter iconic image, the majority of American women did not serve on industrial lines during the war, but were instead heading families. The governmental food policies called upon women to demonstrate their patriotism by becoming “domestic soldiers” with the kitchen table as their battlefront.
Dr. Wallach serves as an associate professor of history and has authored and edited numerous books, articles, and book reviews on African American history and American foodways including "How America Eats: A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture." She is coeditor of three forthcoming books: "American Appetites: A Documentary Reader," "Recipes for Resistance: African-American Foodways from Slavery to Obama," and the "Routledge History of American Foodways."
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