Grilled Cheese Memories.

Most Americans have a memory of grilled cheese. It was the first meal I was ever trusted with the stove to cook for myself. I remember walking home from school for lunch and my mother having a grilled cheese and tomato soup ready for me. Can you imagine that? Children sometimes were allowed to walk home for lunch? It happened.

At one point during President Carter’s Administration, much of the country was given government cheese. A news story showed the government destroying large reserves of old cheese. It was reported as a waste of food. President Carter had boondoggle after boondoggle. This cheese story was starting to look worse than his brother selling Billy Beer. I don’t remember the exact details and I’ve heard different versions of the great government cheese handout. I think the state you were in at the time may have handed out the free cheese differently.

In Ohio, the threshold of earnings for free cheese was high. Churches were begging people to come get all of this free cheese off of their hands. Word would go out on CB radios(it was the Facebook of the 70’s and 80’s) to come get yours.

Those government cheese handouts made for an endless supply of grilled cheese sandwiches. They even handed out free butter to fry them in. It was good times for anyone who liked cheese. The novelty wore off and Reagan was elected. The flow of free cheese for the people stopped about the same time that the Iranian Hostage Crisis was resolved. Life returned to normal with either Kraft slices or Velveeta for the grilled…