Deskfast Day – April 12, 2024

History of Deskfast Day

People have been chowing down on a meal in the morning time since times immemorial. And we’re not just saying that — there’s evidence that backs us up. Multiple ancient cultures tell tales of early meals taken as the sun was rising. Roman soldiers would partake in a porridge they called ‘pulmentus’. Ancient Egyptian peasants would eat a meal of soup, bread, onions, etc. before they left for work in the mornings. And Greeks would frequently have a meal called ‘Ariston’ right after sunrise — a fact that appears in multiple bodies of Greek literature like the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey.”

The situation was a little different during the Middle Ages, especially in Europe and other Western countries. The concept of eating a meal after waking was not popular and was laughed at. There was a two-meal system in place — one at midday and the other in the evenings. This would soon vary according to the period and region, but the early meals were still not common. Breakfast was only for the sick, the elderly, the very young, and the poor working class.

Eventually, by the 15th century, eating an early meal gained favor among all classes of people. Europeans would even eat meat at this time, and nobles would indulge themselves in lavish, long meals. The 16th-century household included breakfast in their expenses, and drinks like tea and coffee also became customary side beverages alongside breakfast. Claims that breakfast was the most important meal of the day rose during this period, and various politicians and leaders would also publicly state their preference for eating a healthy and large breakfast.

Then came the Industrial Revolution and it completely changed how the world saw breakfasts. The 9 to 5 workday gained prominence, and so did the way people ate their morning meals. Workers would get to work early, do their jobs for a while, then eat a meal at around 10 a.m., given by their wives or served by kitchen staff. Breakfast was now more common not only in European countries but in nations around the world.

The eventual backlash against the lavish 19th-century breakfast led to decades of experimentation and innovation, which brought us breakfast cereals, muesli, and other breakfast items that are still popular today. As the range of breakfast foods got more varied, the time people took to enjoy this early meal got shorter and shorter. This is how we got the ‘eating breakfast at your desk’ trend.

This trend has often been blamed on the 2007 — 2008 financial crisis. The shifting economic landscape saw people come into the office earlier and earlier, which reduced their time for eating breakfast. As they couldn’t eat at home, multiple workers would have a wrap, bagel, fruit, yogurt, e.t.c. as they logged onto their computers and began working. And thus, the ‘deskfast’ was born.