“Baby Food for Adults” Created in Michigan by Gerber

Most of us during our lifetimes have fed babies baby food at one time or another. I don’t know how I got through spoon-feeding babies stuff like strained peas without throwing up. ME, not the babies. Just the thought of watching a baby eat strained-pea baby food makes me almost dry-heave. Blech.

On the brighter side, baby food is still a booming business, and the most famous baby foods of all were created right here in Michigan.

You all know Gerber Baby Food, right? Most of you probably swallowed a lot of this stuff as an infant. And some of you know where Fremont, Michigan is...somewhat northeast of Muskegon. That's where it was created in 1928 by Daniel Gerber Jr..

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His father owned the Fremont Canning Company, which became a booming business once Junior came up with his idea for baby foods.

The idea came to Junior after his doctor told him & his wife to feed his sick daughter strained peas. Baby food was expensive at the time and could only be found in pharmacies; that is, until Dan Jr. introduced his baby food line.

What were the first Gerber Baby Foods?
Beef vegetable soup, carrots, peas, prunes and spinach. Now there are over 200 kinds...and many adults enjoy the pureed fruits to this day.

Gerber came up with the first baby cereal in 1972...made adult baby food that was quickly taken off the market.

The adult version was called Gerber’s Singles, marketed as “baby food for adults” in 1974. It didn’t last long, thanks tom the end of the Baby Boom in 1964. Fewer births meant fewer sales, so Gerber had to find a way to keep selling...so why not to adults?

With more single people than ever before, the company thought they might buy easy, ready-to-eat meals in baby food-size jars. They tried Beef Burgundy, Ham Casserole, and Sweet and Sour Pork.....but in the minds of the adults, it was still baby food. Plus, the taglines for the adult baby food didn’t appeal:
“We were good for you then. Now we’re good for you now”
“Something to eat when you’re alone”

So.....goodbye. Adult baby foods.

Regular Gerber baby food is also used to treat sick ferrets.

You can read plenty of other interesting facts about Michigan's own Gerber Baby Foods at thedailymeal.com!