Feeding Cleveland: Local Food History

Feeding Cleveland is a portal to a dynamic set of digital collections that explore the vast local food history of the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. As important as Cleveland's diverse ethnic heritage, its cultural footprint, or its industrial development, an understanding of this city is not complete until we take a look at how Clevelanders have brought food to their tables over the years.

Cleveland's local food history is laden with pleasant sensations: sweet smells emanating from the Log Cabin Sugar Camp in Burton; the welcome of a cool breeze while working in the school garden; the taste of a long, cold draft of a P.O.C.; the sights and sounds of the West Side Market, to name a few. These experiences are all imprinted in Cleveland's collective memory, and are revisited here in Feeding Cleveland. Dig in!

Featured in Feeding Cleveland

  • Cleveland Breweries Remembered - photos of the local brewing industry through the 19th & 20th centuries focusing on people, places & brands.
  • Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program - the history of this innovative and effective horticulture education program that ran from 1904 to 1978, is featured in this searchable digital archive that includes photos, audio, video, papers, artifacts and more.
  • Cleveland's Urban Supermarkets: Innovation, Commitment and Results - a video of a discussion between First National Supermarkets' two primary leaders and chief executive officers, Richard Bogomolny (1978-1991), and John Shields (1983-1993) that covers the major initiatives in Finast Supermarket's urban stores moderated by Susan Alcorn, who directed public affairs for First National from 1982-1997.
  • The Euclid Fish Company - photographs donated by family members of the Euclid Fish Company that showcase the company's development throughout the years, beginning from John Comella's early experiences as a food vendor, to scenes of the company's famous clambakes.
  • The Maple Sugar Industry in Northeast Ohio - photos of various aspects of maple sugar production from the 1920's to the 1970's concentrating on Burton, Chardon, and Geauga County.
  • Urban Agriculture - a joyous look at those who "toil in the soil" — from the relief workers during the Great Depression and citizens in their victory gardens during WWII, to the modern-day enthusiasts and entrepreneurs in community and market gardens.

The Cleveland State University Library requests that all materials from Special Collections that are to be used in publication include a complete acknowledgment, including the name of the collection or photographer (if known). A minimum credit line should include either "The Cleveland Press Collection", "Cleveland State University Library", or "Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library", as appropriate.