Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1919-12-18
Government Bureau Prepares
Set of Charts That Make
Subject Clear.
GIVES COST and ODvALUE
fluctuations Are Planned to Show
Exchanging Factors on Which
Wise Food Selection Must Be
Based-Shows Amount
Food Needed.
prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agricultural


Washington. - The principles of
scientific food selection for the aver
age family have been reduced to easily
applied terms in a series of six charts
designed for popular use by teachers
and lecturers. The charts, prepared
by the Office Of home economics,
United States department of agricul-
ture, are so arranged that the value
In calories of any meal containing
any of the several foods listed and
the cost can be easily calculated.
In general, the tabulations are
planned to show unchanging factors
on which wise food selection must be
based--food requirements and food
composition-and to provide spaces
for the changing factors-prices.
With one or two exceptions the foods
listed are those for which the depart
ment of labor quotes prices in it's
monthly reports.
These charts can be easily repro
duced in either temporary or perma-
nent form. For the former use they
can be copied on a schoolroom black
board. If they are desired for more
permanent use it is suggested that
they be made on blackboard cloth.
In this form they can be rolled COM
pactly. The charts were used by a
department of agriculture speaker to
illustrate lectures at the recent ma
tional dairy show in Chicago.
Shows Food Needed.
The first chart shows in 10O-calorie
portions the amount of food needed
daily by the average family and also
the proportions of the wholesome
diet; that is, the desirable relative
amounts of the following five classes
of foods: 1, vegetables and fruits; 2,
milk, meat, eggs, and similar foods;
3, cereal foods; 4, sweets; and 5, fats.
Charts like this can be made more
generally useful If the words "aver-
age family Gather, mother and three
young children)" and also the num-
Der Of 10O-calorie portions are omitted.
The speaker can then fill in these
spaces and apply the chart to the
needs of any individual or family,
to a man at moderately active mus
cular work, for example, or to fam
lily Of two average adults. Most
teachers have the necessary data for
this. They should remember, however,
that these charts are designed to
show the amount of food that should
be purchased rather than the amount
to be eaten. The amounts inserted
should therefore make provision for
all the losses that take place in the
course Of storing the food and of pre-
pairing it for the table. An allowance
of 10 per cent for this is customary.
For the Working Man.
For Illustration, it is generally
agreed that a man who does moder-
ately active muscular work needs
about 80 100-calorie portions daily.
If he is to receive this amount it will
be necessary to provide at least 33
10O-calorie portions unless eNtraor-
binary care is taken to prevent waste.
With the proportions of wholesome
and attractive diet given on the chart
1t is simple matter to estimate the
number of 1O0-calorie portions needed
of the various kinds Of food. In the
case of this man the distribution
would IA about as follows: From
vegetables and fruits, q; from meat,
milk, eggs, etc., 8; from cereal foods,
10; from sweets, 3; and from fats, 5.
If the food for the average family
costs on the average 1 cent per 100
calorie portion, the total expense for
the day will, Of course, be $1.20, eN-
elusive of tea, coffee, spice, etc. If
1t costs, on the average 1.5 cents per
1O0-calorie portion, the expense per
day will be $1.80. If an effort is to
be made to keep the expense down to
$1.S0 per day, for example, and if
some foods cost 4 or 5 cents per 100
calorie portion, others must be con-
siderably cheaper.
How to Compare Prices.
The other five charts, one for each
group of foods, show how food mate
walls that have somewhat the same