A Study of the Food Consumption of Eighty-Six Families in Carlsbad, New Mexico

Government surveys tell that approximately one-fourth of all the food produced in the United States is wasted. Part of it is wasted by being left unharvested; more is wasted in storage and in wholesale markets, through poor handling and sorting, some is wasted in retail stores, partly because of soncumer carelessness in handling. The biggest waste of all however, seems to be in the homes. People buy more than they need, cook more than they eat, and fail to carefully utilize left overs. Some experts have estimated that the average family of six, by stopping food waste, could save enough to feed another person at home. This is only the beginning of the problems that affect the food consumption and nutritional status of American families. People often eat wrong. Eating wrong does not necessarily mean eating too little; it also might mean eating the wrong foods or inadequate foods. Many cases of borderline malnutrition may result from such eating habits. Some of the war time shortages may contribute to the formation of poor eating habits. With this background of information in mind, the writer attempted to find out whether any relationship existed between the kinds and amounts of food consumed by the Spanish-American and the Negro-American families in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Since the Spanish-American and the Negro-American live in the same section of town, their living conditions are very similar. In order to carry out the purpose of the study it endeavors to answer the following specific questions: 1, What foods were commonly eaten by the two races? 2. How did the dietary practices of the Negro-Americans and the Spanish-Americans compare with the United States government standard? 3. What seemed to have been the chief similarities and differences in food consumption of the two races? The problem is, therefore, did the Spanish-American and Negro-American families eat adequate amounts of the protective foods, that would enable them to meet their nutritional needs and to build better health