Mellon Scholars 2026: Hanifa Savage – The Library Company of Philadelphia

Mellon Scholars Summer Program – Subject Guides

Black Foodways in Philadelphia, 1893–1930

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Canning and preserving at demonstration center at Little Wakefield

Overview:

This library guide examines foodways of Black residents in Philadelphia from 1893 to 1930, with an inquiry positioned at the intersection of social, economic, and geographical landscapes. While exploring various methods of food preservation, cultivation, and access, this guide offers a historical lens—one that accounts for the numerous coinciding events shaping this period.

The Panic of 1893 and the Great Migration (1910s–1930s) brought Black Southerners to northern and western states in search of economic opportunity, a movement inseparable from the rapid rise of industrialization transforming northern cities like Philadelphia. When America joined the war in 1917, food became a patriotic currency and Black Philadelphians were active participants. Although many WW1 posters from the U.S. Food Administration are addressed to a white, middle class audience, many African Americans saw the war as their own; African American women are documented leading canning demonstrations and conservation efforts, situating everyday food practices within the larger war effort.

Yet access to food was never equally distributed. Grocery and market stores had long been part of Philadelphia’s commercial landscape, and people of all backgrounds depended on them for perishables like meats, fruits, and vegetables. For those with little to no financial means, however, market dependence was not always a viable option. Organizations like the Vacant Lots Cultivation Association, founded in Philadelphia in 1897, were created to mobilize underutilized land and offer families—particularly those who were poor, disabled, or elderly—the means to grow and sustain themselves within the city.

About the Author:

Hanifa Savage is a rising senior from North Philadelphia, double-majoring in History and African-American Studies at Temple University. They are a Cecil B. Moore Scholar and Lead Fellow, 1838 Black Metropolis Researching Archivist, and Phi Alpha Theta initiate. Hanifa’s research focuses on ecological approaches to archival analysis and the ethnographic study of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century material culture, particularly as it relates to the African diaspora, women, memory work, and labor history. After graduation, Hanifa plans to attain a Master of Library and Information Science, followed by a master’s degree in Material Culture. In their free time, Hanifa enjoys collaging, exploring music, and crocheting.

Keywords

Contributors:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Food Administration
Vacant Lots Cultivation Association
The National War Garden Commission
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Subject Headings:

African Americans — Pennsylvania — Philadelphia — Social conditions
World War, 1914-1918 — Food supply — United States
Food – Preservation – History
Canning and preserving
African American women – Pennsylvania — Philadelphia

Access Terms:

Pamphlet
Broadside
Newspaper Clippings
Propaganda
Manuals (Handbooks)

Annotated Bibliography

Resources at LCP:

Patterson, E. M. “The Cost of Distributing Groceries.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 50, 1913, pp. 74–82. JSTOR.

This source is an assessment of retail grocery businesses in the 1900s. Patterson discussed the essential role of markets within Philadelphia because of the lack of space to personally harvest food. Although this source is primarily about the economics of starting and maintaining an independent grocery store, it offers a valuable insight into the importance of grocers to the Philadelphian citizen. This source is meant to be read alongside the experience of African descended community members, whose lives depended on markets. Patterson writes this paper from an economic perspective for an academic audience, but it still serves as a useful documentation of market structures with an understanding that Black Philadelphians, though absent from Patterson’s analysis, were among those most dependent on these market structures.

Philadelphia in the World War, 1914-1919. New York: Published for the Philadelphia War History Committee by Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co. 1922.

Assembled by The Philadelphia War Committee, this book is an account of the activities in Philadelphia during World War I. Recorded within is contributions from African American committees and associations. From demonstration classes teaching women how to jar food and cultivate gardens, to the documentation of Black women who led these courses, this book unknowingly became a resource for tracing food knowledge and the transmission of these practices. This source was written and intended as a periodical account for institutional memory of both the committee and the Nation of America, to solidify their narrative, but can be interrogated under different lenses.

Du Bois, W E B. The Philadelphia Negro. Philadelphia, 1899.
In his sociological study, W.E.B. Du Bois documented employment, housing, poverty, and community organization, among other experiences of the Black Philadelphians inhabiting the 7th ward. This source is essential in understanding the material conditions of African American individuals within Philadelphia, shaping the way they accessed and accumulated food during the 1893-1930 period.

“[Philadelphia; Vacant; Cultivation Association].” Philadelphia Inquirer, vol. 142, no. 27, 27 Jan. 1900, p. 8. Readex: America’s Historical Newspapers.

This newspaper clipping documents the Vacant Lots Cultivation Association’s mission, framing its service as bringing “food, health, and pleasure to the deserving”. This language reveals the organization’s charitable orientation and assumptions about who is considered to warrant assistance. As a contemporaneous source, it offers a window into how the association presented itself to Philadelphia’s public and what it hoped to accomplish within the city’s underutilized land. Additional clippings under this title reveal a pattern of public appeals directed at philanthropic donors and prospective participants.

Hardy, Charles Ashley. Race and opportunity. Philadelphia, 1989.

Hardy’s dissertation provides detailed historical context for the Black experience(s) in Philadelphia during the Great Migration. It discusses key themes that echo throughout this guide like social and geographical changes that shaped Black communities, also contributing to food access. The author also notes the importance of social clubs and committees in the Black community, offering support to its members

Reference Books:

Laura Lawson. City Bountiful : A Century of Community Gardening in America. University of California Press, 2005.

Lawson writes a history of community gardens in America, beginning her examination with the Vacant Lots Cultivation Association and their mission to turn empty lots into flourishing farms for citizen benefit. Using the association’s annual reports, Lawson creates a centralized hub for all information related to the demographics and surveying of participants.

Scott, Emmett J. 1873-1957. Negro Migration During the War. New York [etc.]: Oxford University Press, 1920.

Scott traces what Black Southerners left behind and what they encountered on arrival in northern cities like Philadelphia, examining the economic, social, and political conditions that influenced their decisions to migrate. Read alongside Patterson’s analysis of Philadelphia’s grocery structures and Du Bois’s documentation of 7th Ward conditions, this source situates food access and market dependence within a larger story of urban arrival.

Local Resources:

Philadelphia Vacant Lots Cultivation Association. Annual Report of the Philadelphia Vacant Lots Cultivation Association. [Philadelphia, Pa.]: Philadelphia Vacant Lots Cultivation Association, 1897.

This source was written as an annual report for the Philadelphia Vacant Lots Cultivation Association. It houses demographic data on participants, financial reports supporting claims of participant self-sustainability, and the core philosophy behind the project. Written for each season, these reports served as proof to justify the Association’s existence and demonstrate how urban farming could alleviate the circumstances of unemployed individuals.