The better the farm, the better the food: institutional diet, agricultural practices, and nutrition in US almshouses

The expansion of institutional care for the poor and sick in the United States during the late nineteenth century included increased attention on the benefits of farms as a component of institutional life. Farms attached to almshouses or poor farms were publicly funded ways to produce food for the destitute of communities and in this way played a significant part in social welfare provisions. The success or failure of those farms, in turn, affected the quality of meals served to residents of the institutions. Far from being a workhouse, poor farms were institutions that relied on the skilled management of farmers and their wives, who were capable of putting balanced meals on the table. Good farming practices at the institution regularly led to decent meals for the poor. This manuscript explores the role of food production and preparation at U.S. institutions for the poor, and details how food security issues were publicly handled in the late nineteenth century.