"Most of us in town never understood the reason for teaching classes about cook books, but then again, I doubt few people gave it a second thought, especially on account of the free meals."

In the 1930's, people ate dandelion greens, and other local delicacies. The college provided recipes. It also ran a soup kitchen, set up a chicken farm, donated land for small vegetable gardens, and hosted a free medical clinic once a month.  During the Great Depression, the college lost some of its excess charm. According to Elsie Hincklebottom, "The hard times changed us. Our frivolous surface became more regimented, institutional. For instance, freshman orientation, which we had always called 'A Recipe for Virtue,' was more properly renamed, 'Orientation.'"  By the 1934-35 school year, students were offered the following "Cooking-Related Electives": Historicity of Food Objects and Symbols [Prof. Nils Neaver] The Literature of Beverages [Prof. D. Heinz] Indexing Recipes for Popular Use [Assoc. Prof. Edie Wobbly] Fabricating Foods [Dr. H. McPhee, Phd., Order of the Eastern Star] Interpreting Regional Food Trends From Newspaper Clippings [S. Slaiborne] Researching Foreign Foods [Staff]

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