In tough times, Spam is suddenly appealing
AUSTIN, Minn. - The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up on overtime.
The workers make Spam, perhaps the iconic hard-times food in the American pantry.
Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again.
In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely.
Spam, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world's most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by food elites and skewered by comedians who have offered smart-alecky theories on its name (one G-rated example: Something Posing As Meat).
But these days, consumers are rediscovering relatively cheap foods, Spam among them. A 12-ounce can of Spam, marketed as "Crazy Tasty," costs about $2.40. "People are realizing it's not that bad a product," said Dan Johnson, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven.
Hormel declined to cooperate with this article, but several veteran workers said they been through boom times before - but nothing like this.
Spam "seems to do well when hard times hit," said Dan Bartel, business agent for United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 9. "We'll probably see Spam lines instead of soup lines."
Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of economical grocery items that are selling steadily.
Pancake mixes and instant potatoes are booming. So are vitamins, fruit and vegetable preservatives, and beer, according to Information Resources, a market research firm.
"We've seen a double-digit increase in the sale of rice and beans," said Teena Massingill, spokeswoman for the Safeway grocery chain. "They're real belly fillers."
Kraft Foods said recently that some of its value-oriented products like macaroni and cheese, Jell-O, and Kool-Aid were experiencing robust growth. And sales are still growing, for Velveeta, a Kraft product that bears the same passing resemblance to cheese as Spam bears to ham.
Invented during the Great Depression by Jay Hormel, the son of the company's founder, Spam is a combination of ham, pork, sugar, salt, water, potato starch, and a "hint" of sodium nitrate "to help Spam keep its gorgeous pink color," according to Hormel.
Because it does not require refrigeration, Spam can last for years. Hormel says "it's like meat with a pause button."
During World War II, Spam became a staple for Allied troops overseas. They introduced it to local residents, and it remains popular in many parts of the world where the troops were stationed.
The company would not discuss more recent sales of the product or permit a tour of the Spam factory, citing rules that Hormel said prevented it from speaking ahead of a forthcoming earnings report.
However, Hormel executives appear to be banking on the theory that Spam fits nicely into recession budgets. Workers on the Spam line in Austin - more than 40 work two shifts - see no signs that their schedule will let up.
"We are scheduled to work every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas," said Darwin Sellers, 56, who adds salt, sugar, and nitrates to batches of Spam. Hormel chief executive Jeffrey Ettinger "is negotiating with the man upstairs to get us to work eight days a week," Sellers said.
Sellers said he had not seen much of his family in recent months, but the grueling schedule had been good for his checkbook. He bought a new television and planned to replace a 20-year-old refrigerator.
Unlike his colleagues though, he has no plans to stock up on Spam. "It's not something I've ever developed a taste for," he said.
A rising segment of the public, it seems, does have a taste for Spam, which nowadays is available in several varieties, including Spam Low Sodium, Spam with Cheese, and Spam Hot & Spicy.
James Bate, a 48-year-old sausage maker, was buying it at Wal-Mart in Cleveland recently. Not only was it cheap, but he said it brought back fond memories of his grandfather making him Spam sandwiches.
"You can mix it with tomatoes and onions and make a good meal out of it," he said. "A little bit of this stuff goes a long way." 