Selections from Aunt Sammy's Radio Recipes and USDA Favorites

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SCIENCE AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION HOME AND GARDEN BULLETIN NO. 215
Issued August, 1976
Prepared by Consumer and Food Economics Institute Science and Education Administration
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402
Stock Number 001-000-03523-1
Aunt Sammy came to life with the first radio broadcast of “Housekeeper’s Chat” on October 4, 1926. The character of Aunt Sammy—wife of Uncle Sam—was created by the USDA Bureau of Home Economics and the Radio Service. Many women across the country played the part as they spoke into the microphones of local radio stations.
The highlights of Aunt Sammy’s show were the menus and recipes, but Aunt Sammy also talked about clothing, furniture, appliances, and other family and household matters. Aunt Sammy wasn’t just a homebody, however. She commented on world affairs, reported the latest fads, and told jokes. The talk moved easily from one subject to another, always natural and entertaining as well as informative.
Aunt Sammy soon became popular. By the end of the first year her program was carried by 43 radio stations. By 1932, 194 stations were broadcasting Aunt Sammy’s show. A number of the stations were broadcasting the show five times a week.
Many listeners wrote for copies of the recipes, and the Bureau of Home Economics answered these requests with weekly mimeographed sheets. In 1927 the most popular recipes were assembled into a pamphlet. The demand was so great that it had to be reprinted after only a month. “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes” was revised and enlarged three times between 1927 and 1931. In 1932 it became the first cookbook published in braille.
Aunt Sammy faded out during the Great Depression. After 1934 the name Aunt Sammy was no longer used. The radio show became drier and more factual and was renamed “Homemaker Chats.” In 1946 it was discontinued.
Today, consumers are still looking to USDA for information on how to make the best use of the food available to them. A research program in the Consumer and Food Economics Institute of the Science and Education Administration provides the basis for numerous laboratory-tested recipes.