The Meatloaf Family

If your childhood was anything like mine, meatloaf was a frequent choice for dinner and for many good reasons. Meatloaf is one of the most well-known, all-American comfort foods and has been around for thousands of years, yet has only become really popular among families in that past century specifically during the Great Depression. Meatloaf is so popular because it’s cheap to make and is versatile made widespread through working class families who are considered “blue-collar”, which is why this dish relates to my family exemplified though the socioeconomic conditions my mom experienced growing up on a farm meatloaf was a popular meal with her family and has stuck with our family for generations. Growing up my mom and her siblings had limited
This makes this dish a very resourceful meal that allows families on the lower end of the wealth spectrum to both eat every night and to fulfill their hunger
Meatloaf didn’t become prevalent dish until the Great Depression due to the high rates of unemployment because of the stock market crash leaving millions of people hungry and in search for cheap food alternatives to feed their families. “The notion of meatloaf as comfort food stems from its frequent appearance in this period. Warm and filling, it provided cheap, nourishing sustenance. “ (theatlantic) during the 1930s people started buying more processed and canned foods such as “bread and crackers, quick-cooking oats, tapioca, breakfast cereal, and powdered sauce mixes could pad out a meatloaf, and condiments such as mustard, bouillon, canned soup, and Heinz ketchup added flavor and moistness at small cost. “ (theatlantic). This led manufacturers to position meatloaf recipes on the back of certain products in order to increase sales. Meatloafs popularity continued into the 50s and 60s focusing on making meatloaf more creative making it popular with housewives and in blue-collar homes.