25 Cent Meal
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
During the Great Depression one of FDR’s New Deal Program was the Works Project Administration (WPA). It hired unemployed writers. America Eats was one of research projects they worked on. Here is a story based on WPA sources from New York City municipal archives. The story is another in our series eating while poor. At cheap restaurants along New York City’s Bowery district during the Great Depression, a 25 cent meal might consist of: 3 broiled pork chops with potatoes, three rolls and coffee; large bowl of steaming soup, a thick, sizzling juicy steak smothered with onions, French fries on the side, coffee, and three rolls. And the food was wholesome and filling. Please, share your go to eatery for a great inexpensive meal and what you get for the cost. As a broke undergrad @ Herkimer County Community College, for me it was $.10 wings on Thursday nights. How about you?
