The factory at the table
The story of company canteens in a series of insights into positive examples
Corporate culture also has a place in company canteens. A meeting place, a chance to dialogue, a space for informal but not necessarily less significant discussion, factory and office canteens have always represented particular areas in organised production. Places where the company’s attention to the people who work there becomes more evident, canteens (and the food served there) today are part of the welfare that, all things considered, has always existed in many industrial realities. In many, of course, but certainly not all. For this reason, returning to the matter of company canteens that have also performed well in this particular sector may be somewhat useful for everyone. You can do this by reading Il cibo e le mense aziendali delle grandi fabbriche del Novecento (food and company canteens of the great 20th century factories), a slim volume of just over 40 pages, but full of history and contemporary resonance. The history comes from analysing the past of certain company canteens; the contemporary resonance derives from how these canteens are used to describe the present.
A common thread runs through the whole book: feeding the workers of the 20th century’s great factories, a theme that requires some reflections in relation to the variety of aspects that characterize the individual Italian experiences. Indeed, a wide variety of companies has operated in this area.
In May 2023, a day was organised and dedicated to this theme as part of the Memo Festival 2023, which was followed by the book that brought together the studies presented (also accompanied by an interesting series of images). Positive example of companies – well told, like those of the Cantiere Navale Triestino in Monfalcone, of Olivetti in Ivrea, of Pirelli in Bicocca, Milan, of Ansaldo in Genoa – intertwined with in-depth studies of aspects connected to food, to the network of company outlets, to the organisation of production and the relationships between this and the social system that arises in factories and offices. Food and canteen welfare isn’t always easy to apply, but it’s always a key element in understanding the company’s attitude towards its workers.
So canteens mean relaxing together, but they also represent one expression of welfare that some companies put in practice long ago and which returns to the experience of other companies today. The book edited by Chiara Aglialoro has the great merit of summarising decades of factory life captured in the particular moment of the “lunch break” in just a few pages.
Il cibo e le mense aziendali delle grandi fabbriche del Novecento.
Chiara Aglialoro (ed.)
Consorzio Culturale del Monfalconese, 2023
The story of company canteens in a series of insights into positive examples
Corporate culture also has a place in company canteens. A meeting place, a chance to dialogue, a space for informal but not necessarily less significant discussion, factory and office canteens have always represented particular areas in organised production. Places where the company’s attention to the people who work there becomes more evident, canteens (and the food served there) today are part of the welfare that, all things considered, has always existed in many industrial realities. In many, of course, but certainly not all. For this reason, returning to the matter of company canteens that have also performed well in this particular sector may be somewhat useful for everyone. You can do this by reading Il cibo e le mense aziendali delle grandi fabbriche del Novecento (food and company canteens of the great 20th century factories), a slim volume of just over 40 pages, but full of history and contemporary resonance. The history comes from analysing the past of certain company canteens; the contemporary resonance derives from how these canteens are used to describe the present.
A common thread runs through the whole book: feeding the workers of the 20th century’s great factories, a theme that requires some reflections in relation to the variety of aspects that characterize the individual Italian experiences. Indeed, a wide variety of companies has operated in this area.
In May 2023, a day was organised and dedicated to this theme as part of the Memo Festival 2023, which was followed by the book that brought together the studies presented (also accompanied by an interesting series of images). Positive example of companies – well told, like those of the Cantiere Navale Triestino in Monfalcone, of Olivetti in Ivrea, of Pirelli in Bicocca, Milan, of Ansaldo in Genoa – intertwined with in-depth studies of aspects connected to food, to the network of company outlets, to the organisation of production and the relationships between this and the social system that arises in factories and offices. Food and canteen welfare isn’t always easy to apply, but it’s always a key element in understanding the company’s attitude towards its workers.
So canteens mean relaxing together, but they also represent one expression of welfare that some companies put in practice long ago and which returns to the experience of other companies today. The book edited by Chiara Aglialoro has the great merit of summarising decades of factory life captured in the particular moment of the “lunch break” in just a few pages.
Il cibo e le mense aziendali delle grandi fabbriche del Novecento.
Chiara Aglialoro (ed.)
Consorzio Culturale del Monfalconese, 2023