The Self-Service Revolution in Italian Factory Canteens, 1950-1970

Widely spread in response to the food shortages of the war period, factory canteens decreased in number but did not disappear during the following years. In fact, these structures continued to provide a welfare service for white-collar and factory workers, operating in accordance with traditional and largely empirical models and criteria. (i.e. little variety of meals, table service, reconverted lounges filled with long tables and benches). During 1950s and 1960s, Italy experienced an economic growth of unprecedented intensity (the so-called economic boom) that profoundly changed social structures and consumption patterns. In this phase, factory canteens definitively became part of the industrial landscape, also thanks to the pioneering action of some large companies (Pirelli, Eni and Olivetti). In fact, the development of production processes and personnel management techniques, as well as the growth of the industrial plants, lead to a quantitative and organizational leap of the canteens. The aim of the paper is to examine the adoption and diffusion of self-service distribution system in factory canteens, a topic largely neglected by historiography. In this view, self-service constituted a fundamental innovation: initially perceived as an authentic technological and organizational revolution, in the following decades it became the standard system for distributing meals in canteens. In addition, identifying the reasons for the emergence of self-service also means analyzing its operational and nutritional implications. Finally, particular attention will be paid to the attitudes and strategies of the main social actors involved in this process (companies and workers).