Mexico Missouri message., 1918-08-15
COMMUNITY WAR
KITCHENS Liked
Spring Up Around Country Like
Mushrooms to Meet Sud-
den Need for Food.
AID IN CONSERVATION PLANS
Women Meet in Groups to Can and Dry
and Learn Best Methods of Saving
Home Demonstration Agents
Supervise.

War emergency kitchens Of all sorts
and descriptions have sprung up over
the country like mushrooms to meet
the sudden need for community food
centers. They are places where
definite information and instruction
may be given to help women in their
conservation problems, and where cam
ming, drying and war cooking may be
demonstrated and put into practice.
The canning kitchen is the most COM
mon Of the new community enter
prises. Within a year 1t has passed
the experimental stage and has become
an established institution. Reports
from 81 kitchens in widely scattered
sections of the United States record
the saving of 205,527 quarts of fruits
and vegetables in 1917.
The kitchens have been Organized
and financed in various ways. Expen-
ses have been taken care of by school
boards, boards Of trade, business mems
associations, local committees of the
council of national defense, loans from
banks or from individuals, gifts from
individuals and membership fees.
Some of the Kitchens are mainly edu-
cational, and to them the woman
brings her own materials to can or dry
under supervision. A few take care
of surplus or donated products only.
Another type combines both phases of
| the work, canning donated surplus as
well as giving instruction and helping
individuals. The most complete type,
however, is the all-the-year Kitchen
real community center-which COM
bines with the other features the sale
Of cooked foods and an exchange for
the sale of homemade products.
Work in Grange Kitchen.
A Grange kitchen housed one can
ming center in small New York vii
| lage last summer. The equipment,
which cost less than 500, included a
drler, a sterilizer, an oil stove a tin
charcoal stove and Gaping and tip
ping irons. The whole community CO.
/ operated in making the center sue
cess-a local firm allowed wholesale
/ prices on tin cans, grocers donated sur
| plus perishable products and the viii
lage children gathered much Of the pro-
! duce. During the rush season, peas
and beans. were sent to elderly women
who could not leave home. They pre-
I pared the vegetables for canning and
were glad to- be able to give their serv-
ices In this way.
I City community canneries have ham
died large quantities of products from
markets and school gardens. In Salt
Lake City the eannery was placed in
the market house. This made ii possi-
bic for women to buy their fruit and
vegetables in the market and can
them at the center while still perfectly
fresh.
A municipal kitchen was established
in New Orleans, La, last August,
where groups of housekeepers, bakers,
hotel men and groeerymen made ex-
peiiments In substitute breads and dis
cussed methods of food conservation.
From this idea war kitchens have been
equipped in TS of the southern cities.
and women OF small towns and county
seats reading of the work being carried
on in these centers are equipping kitch-
ems in court houses, school houses and
various public buildings. In Arkansas
and Mississippi ome-demonstrntlon
Kitchens ara at work In more than hall
the counties in each state.