Households, food and wages: The hygienic-economic survey of the “Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición”

Abstract

Between 1936 and 1937, a group of “social researchers” graduated at the “Museo Social Argentino” and trained by experts from the “Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición” collected detailed data from 600 families from different neighborhoods in Buenos Aires during 31 days. The survey addressed the family composition, health, labor situation, and their family budget, especially housing and food consumption rates. Many social assistance institutions, both public and private, facilitated access to the interviewed families and assisted in monitoring the survey. The results obtained were systematized by the institute staff, published in its Bulletin and presented to international experts’ forums on diverse social problems. This paper analyzes the detailed record of the work and living conditions -which focused on the family as the main unit of analysis- and enrolls it in a series of initiatives. These initiatives promoted the production of knowledge about working class household, family budgets and consumption habits iin relation to salary, both locally and transnationally. We also understand that the categories and techniques at play in these kind of surveys contributed, not without conflict, to the delimitation of household as a place of State intervention.