Nutrition Facts

St. Louis Dietetic Association

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SLDA History

SLDA Historically Speaking

The following article was written by our historian, Marjorie Mueller, who is also one of our 50 year plus members, for our newsletters in 1998.

Reading the minutes of the SLDA meetings in the early years was like reading medieval history, with the Association performing tasks done by monasteries in that period. The feeling grows that those dietitians worked very hard within narrow perimeters to improve nutrition in the community, while striving to improve themselves with very limited resources.

Meeting speakers, all of whom were local, shared their professional experiences with individual patients and small studies were conducted in cooperation with their colleagues, but real research was at a stand still. Technolgy was nonexistent, records were laboriously kept by hand and minimal because of limited staff during war times. In December 1940, there were 53 paid St. Louis Dietetic Association members, who "Did it all".

Rosie did more than rivet.
Are you aware of the contribution the Association made to the War Effort? Early in 1942, it was decided to equip a field kitchen to be given to the local American Red Cross; to finance this project, members tested recipes for Pet Milk and later quantity yeast recipes for Anheuser Busch. As a group, the Association offered their services to the St. Louis City and County Defense committee to serve in any capacity needed, and to the Red Cross to teach nutrition. They also put on a War Bond Drive and allocated $100.00 to buy dishes for the USO.

Putting Money Where it Counts
Our association has always supported organizations in the metropolitan area, making a "substantial contribution" to both the Red Cross and Community Chest (which later became the United Way). The contributions were $25.00 and at a time when monthly salaries for dietitians were in the low to medium three figure range, this was indeed a substantial contribution.

Activism and Advocacy
The Association's involvement in metropolitan activities was further evidenced by their membership in the Arts and Education Council and in the Group Action Council with whom they cooperated in urging the Board of Alderman to pass a Good Restaurant Sanitation Bill in 1945. The Council honored dietitians Ruth Kahn and Virginia Minnich at the Woman of Achievement dinner in May 1947.

Gathering support of legislators is nothing new for dietitians. In 1943, congress was urged to support the land grant colleges bill; in 1945, enrichment of flour; 1946, school lunch bill; and 1949, margarine tax repeal. If we can do all this, licensure should be a piece of cake. (Low-fat, of course!)

Post war years brought new members. In 1947, membership almost doubled. New committees were formed that addressed community nutrition, food administration and special education. The American Hospital Association and the American Academy of General Practice held conventions in St. Louis. SLDA hosted booths that focused on weight control and basic nutrition at these conventions and more. The Association sponsored a radio show and the Health Education section of the Planning Council requested aid in leading discussion groups on food buying with managers and tenants fo the St. Louis Housing projects. SLDA spread it's influence into the whole community.

Perhaps the most important change came with the advent of the "out of town" speaker who introduced food accounting, labor saving equipment, in-service training programs and marketing.

The first Conference on Aging was held in St. Louis in February 1957, opening the whole geriatric field and sounding the change of dietetics from a largely hospital dietary oriented position profession to encompass all phases of nutrition in the community.