Hobo Supper

Good food that should be divorced from an unfortunate tradition.

There are actually two things described as a hobo supper in American cooking; one of them is this dish, and the other is an event where people get together to eat it together, either as a fundraiser or as a church or social event. (Think “spaghetti dinner” or “pancake breakfast.”)

Sometimes, to be hypothetically more “festive,” people would dress for the occasion, as they did in this clipping from the Aug. 14, 1947 edition of the St. Petersburg Times (click to enlarge).

Can we call these something else, please? “Boy Scout suppers?” And then if we feel like dressing up, we’ll all wear kerchiefs?

From the box of L.S. from Joplin, Missouri.

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