National Bologna Day
National Bologna Day
Get ready to celebrate this school lunch classic for National Bologna Day on October 24th.
This sausage-like sandwich meat is named for its city of creation, Bologna, Italy. The more traditional Italian-style bologna includes an assortment of spices that are usually excluded from the American-style slices.
While traditionally made with either pork, beef, or a combination of the two, bologna can also be made with other animal proteins like poultry or game, or with plant-based meat substitutes like soy.
While the tradition of blending, smoking, and curing meats stretches back thousands of years, the modern American bologna wasn’t invented until sometime around the dawn of the 20th century. The easily accessible meat skyrocketed in popularity during the Great Depression as many other sources of protein became to dear to afford.
Bologna enjoyed another boost in 1963 when it was added to the official lunch menu of the New York Board of Education, solidifying the affiliation of the popular sandwich meat with school lunches. And then, in 1974, came one of the most effective and memorable marketing campaigns to ever exist with Oscar Meyer’s iconic My Bologna Has a Name commercial.
So whether your bologna’s name is spelled O S C A R or you prefer a more traditional Italian style slice, be sure to make yourself a sandwich just like mom used to make on October 24th for National Bologna Day.
