During the Great Depression, a low-paid laborer could expect to be paid approximately 5¢ hourly. A 16-ounce loaf of bread was 6.5¢, or a little more than one hour of pay. A lot of people complain about the prices of things now, but can you imagine working over one hour for a loaf of bread? That 5¢ an hour is worth approximately $1.22 in 2026 dollars. Can you imagine being paid $1.22 an hour today? That loaf of bread in 1932 was equivalent to $1.77 today…or about how much bread is able to be bought for if you get the cheapest loaf you can find in 2026.
I actually know what it’s like to work for about $1 an hour in 2008 and 2009. Prices were lower then, so the dollar stretched further, but it took almost an hour to get one loaf of bread. As a result, we didn’t eat much store-bought bread. When five pounds of flour could be bought for a dollar and a quarter and would last much longer than a one-pound loaf of bread, yeah, I was going to bake. Instead of 89¢ a loaf, I paid less than 50¢ a loaf when all the ingredients were added together along with the energy to cook it.
Even cheaper were rice, beans, popcorn, garden seeds, and chickens. Corn was $5 a 50-pound sack, but it was feed corn and not fit for human consumption. I never got so desperate that I had to feed my kids feed corn, but some people did.
I remember speaking to a woman in line at the feed store who was giving me tips on making the feed corn human-safe. You had to pick through it by hand and toss anything bad. Then you had to wash it three times to make sure all the grime was off of it. Then you had to grind it…If you didn’t have a mill, it was tiresome work. Then you had to cook it like cornmeal mush. She did say it took longer to cook than most cornmeal. She said, “I only told you this so that them babies don’t starve. My mamma taught me, and her granny taught her.” That’s how her family got through “hard times”.
I let her know that my children were alright…I was very good at making things stretch, growing food, and foraging. I thanked her for her knowledge and concern. I believe little Danilla told her all about the gardens. I never felt safe doing this for my kids to eat, so I always worked hard to make sure their food was better than that.
The day-old bread that was bought for animals at a steep discount was stolen by the children once or twice. I paid $10 for 150 pounds…but it was at risk of mold, so children were not supposed to eat it. Before you judge the children, imagine day-old Danishes being thrown out to pigs and you haven’t had a pastry in months. When your mother says no, you take it anyway, unaware of the risk. I never punished them for that. They did have a few crying fits, throwing old pastries to pigs and chickens when they wanted one so badly.
Consumer Sentiment is the lowest it has been since the 1950’s, but I seriously doubt it is lower than the Great Depression. I only say this to put things into perspective.
I noticed the people complaining online about food prices haven’t had to choose between store-bought bread and flour to bake bread because their hourly wage was close to how much it costs to buy a loaf of bread. That may be due to selection bias, since someone having to make these decisions might not be able to afford a cell phone, internet, cell service, and more. I had the internet at that time because it was the only way I made money. It was a business expense.
There are ways to make things cheaper. Today, flour is no longer a buck and a quarter for five pounds. It costs roughly double now.
If you bought 25 pounds in bulk, it’s $10 at my local Walmart. That means you could make 20 loaves of 20-ounce bread for approximately $20 with all the extras. The cheapest loaf of bread locally is $1.45 for a 20-ounce loaf, which is $29 before taxes for 20 loaves. Baking your own bread literally saves $9 at a minimum. If you do it in a solar oven or wood stove and don’t add much besides yeast, or start a sourdough from scratch, it gets even cheaper. I could see spending as little as $15 for a total of 20 loaves of that size after all was said and done. Sourdough bread is a lovely-tasting bread and a great side in moderation. Baking once a week and using most of the starter up would make a continuous, very inexpensive, tasty artisan meal component.
A starter can be made at home and removes the need to buy yeast at all, but once you start it…it is a living thing and needs daily care. Think of it like your pet yeast that feeds you and saves you money. Then you can have sourdough bread daily with an egg for breakfast or dried as croutons for your noon-time salad or a slice toasted with butter and garlic to complement your dinner. At less than 75¢ a loaf, can you really complain?
People have lost these skills. How to pinch a penny so tight it squeals is a lost art. I haven’t lost the skill set. It’s how I managed to survive.