"LI B R.AR.Y OF THE, UN IVERSITY OF ILLINOIS In 1950 In 1951.. Total expecting to buy Percentage expecting to buy . 225 203 134 43 10 11 4 1 69 31 103 93 64 12 11 4 2 28 28 328 296 198 55 21 15 6 1 Output of home units has expanded rapidly. In 1946 the Depart- ment of Commerce estimated an output of 210,248 home freezers, valued at 42 million dollars. For the first six months of 1948 an estimated 383 thousand units were sold for over 100 million dollars. An estimated 6.4 percent of these were sold in Illinois at a cost of about 7 million dollars. Most of the locker renters furnishing the information for the previous section indicated whether or not they intended to buy home freezer units (Table 9). Thirty-one percent of the farm and 28 per- cent of the town locker customers indicated they plan to buy home units. Fifty-seven of 70 farm families and 30 out of 86 town families 1 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration News, May 6, 1946, p. 10. 2 Wall Street Journal, August 30, 1948, p. 1. 1950] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 447 that had given up lockers had home units. Very few such units have been built by families for their own use, and at present there is little interest in doing so. One hundred fifteen home-unit users indicated on their question- naires whether or not they also rented lockers. Of these 115 families, 85 were rural families and 30 lived in town. All but nine of the 85 farm families had at one time rented lockers. Thirty-three of these families still used lockers, and 31, or 36 percent, indicated they would continue to do so. Eighteen of the 30 home-unit users in town had rented lockers at one time. Fifteen had kept their lockers and 14, or 46 percent, planned to continue locker rental. If these figures are considered roughly representative of the state, then a little less than three-fourths of the home units in the state are owned by rural families, and a little more than one-fourth by urban families. It is estimated that approximately 35,000 home units are owned by families also renting lockers and that 65,000 families have home units but no locker storage. Of these 65,000, approximately 48,000 are rural families. This is about 8 percent of the number of rural families given in the 1940 Census. About 1 percent of the urban families own home units but no lockers. Fifty-five percent of the home units on farms were less than six miles from a locker plant. Size and Length of Use Home units sold have been largely small and of medium size, the capacity of the latter being equivalent to that of two lockers or less. Of the farm home-unit users answering questionnaires, over half of those who rented lockers had home units of 10 cubic feet or smaller, while over half of those without lockers had units 16 cubic feet or more in size (Table 10) . Sixty-four percent of town families with both lockers and home units had home units that were 10 cubic feet or less Table 10. Size of Home Units Used by Families That Also Rented Lockers and by Families That Did Not Rent Lockers Size of home unit ir cubic feet Number of families k with lockers Number of families without lockers Farm Town Total Farm Town Total Under 6 4 4 5 2 2 1 8 17 12 5 2 5 12 32 40 5 9 103 4 16 13 8 '2 43 9 28 45 48 5 11 146 6-10 12 11-15. . 10 16-20 3 21-25 1 Over 25 Total families. . . 30 14 44 Average size of locker, cubic feet 12.0 9.7 11.3 13.6 12.4 13.2 448 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, in size, while 46 percent of those without lockers had home units of this size. Farm families tend to have larger home units than town families. The units in farm homes averaged 14.5 cubic feet of space and those in town 10.3 cubic feet. The larger size of the farm families' units is reflected in higher prices paid for the units. Over half of them cost more than $400, while nearly 53 percent of the home units in town homes cost $350 or less. The home units included in this survey had been used a com- paratively short time. Twenty-eight out of the 39 town units and 59 of the 85 farm units had been in use for over a year. Food Stored in Home Units Meat is the most important food item stored in home units. More beef than pork is stored, both in number of pounds and in percentage of families storing it (Table 11). Practically all the meat stored in home units was processed by locker plants if the owner also rented a Table 11. Average Amount of Meat and Poultry Stored in Home Units by 59 Farm Families and 28 Town Families Farm families Town families Both groups Item Number of families Amount of item stored Number of families Amount of item stored Number of families Amount of item stored Beef . 57 pounds 378 208 3 60 22 18 1 24 pounds 207 85 1 44 79 68 5 78 pounds 324 169 2 54 Pork 50 4 Poultry . 54 locker; but only 57 percent of the farm families and 46 percent of the town families that did not rent lockers had the processing done by locker plants (Table 12) . Farm families indicated that 92 percent of the beef consumed, 71 percent of the pork, and 56 percent of the poultry were frozen; town families indicated 69 percent of the beef, 43 percent of the pork, and 60 percent of the poultry were frozen. The other major items stored in home units were fruits and vege- tables. Thirty-three percent of the fruit and 36 percent of the vege- tables used by farm families were frozen. For town families the figures were 36 percent for fruit and 37 percent for vegetables. Farm users of home units stored 42 quarts of vegetables and 54 quarts of fruit per family; town users stored 27 quarts of vegetables and 31 quarts of fruit per family. 1950] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 449 Table 12. Where 189 Home-Unit Users Had Their Meat Processed Number of families with lockers Number of families without lockers On farms In town Total On farms In town Total 33 13 46 58 19 77 Home 1 1 38 15 53 Store 5 7 12 Total 33 14 47 101 41 142 In 1947 the food stored by farm families occupied an average of 23.5 cubic feet of storage space, while the town families used 12.5 feet of storage space. The farm families stored enough food to fill their home units an average of 1^ times a year, while the town families filled their home units 11/5 times. At the time this survey was made (1947) the farm units were 81 percent filled, and the town units were 78 percent filled. Advantages and Disadvantages of Home Units Both former locker patrons who had bought home units and other home-unit users were asked to give the advantages and disadvantages of home units. Their answers are summarized in Tables 13, 14, and 15. The first four advantages listed in Table 13, all concerned with convenience, seem to be most important. Convenience is also given as the major advantage by the group whose answers are reported in Table 14. Some of the advantages listed are inherent in home units, but others are objections to locker plant operations which could be corrected. Table 13. Advantages of a Home Unit as Listed by 85 Farm and 35 Town Unit Users Number of Number of Advantage farm town Total users users Convenient 25 13 38 Saves trips to town 17 2 19 Accessible 11 7 18 Handles small quantities of fruit, vegetables, and poultry with ease Menus with more variety and better quality can be arranged 16 8 1 5 17 13 Economical 5 3 8 Makes it possible to have fresh foods year round 6 6 Makes more space available 5 5 No food mixup 5 5 Less work 4 1 5 Makes it possible to use own meat and produce 2 2 Less waste 1 1 2 No bad odor 1 1 No cold room to enter 1 1 Saves time 1 1 Total answers* 106 35 141 a Some users listed more than one advantage. 450 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, Table 14. Advantages of a Home Unit Given by 87 Former Locker Customers Owning Home Units (57 farm families and 30 town families) . , Number of Number of rp . i Advantage farm families town fami i ies Total Convenient . 52 22 74 Has more room than a locker 12 5 17 Eliminates food mixups 11 6 17 Cheaper than a locker 7 7 No cold room to enter 5 5 Less waste 1 2 3 Meat can be wrapped as wanted 1 1 Family interest encourages use 1 1 Total answers" 89 36 124 Some replies included more than one advantage. Comparatively few home-unit users found the home unit inconven- ient (Table 15). Those who did, listed such disadvantages as immo- bility, small size, noise, bulkiness, amount of work connected with processing, and necessity for defrosting. Table 15. Disadvantages of a Home Unit Listed by 55 Former Locker Customers Using Home Units and by 120 Other Home-Unit Users Disadvantage Total Number of Number of farm users town users None listed 109 48 157 Inconvenient . . 16 4 20 Expensive 10 7 17 Unit defective or subject to power failure 9 1 10 Won't quick-freeze sufficient quantity 6 6 150 60 210 a Some replies included more than one disadvantage. EFFECTS OF FROZEN STORAGE ON FOOD CONSUMPTION Reactions of farm families. Farm families who rented lockers or owned home units preferred frozen meat to fresh meat, but they chose fresh fruits and vegetables over frozen ones. They preferred frozen fruits to frozen vegetables. Families owning home units had a greater preference for frozen foods than did families who rented lockers. Almost half the families indicated that they used more meat after they rented a locker and less than 5 percent used less. Even more im- portant is the fact that the amount of beef consumed increased while 1950] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 451 the amount of pork decreased. Sixty percent of the families used more beef, while 2 percent used less ; 14 percent used more pork and 33 per- cent used less. Statistics on the number of hogs slaughtered for home use in Illinois in recent years bring out this same trend a decrease in hogs slaughtered and an increase in cattle. Reactions of town families. The town families in this study pre- ferred fresh to frozen foods but had a greater preference for frozen meats than for frozen fruits and vegetables. Some persons said that although they preferred fresh foods they ate frozen foods because the frozen foods were of consistently higher quality than fresh products at comparable prices. Many others indicated that after using frozen foods for some time they could see no difference in flavor between these foods and fresh foods. Forty-five percent indicated an increase in beef consumption and 6 percent a decrease, while 14 percent indicated an increase in pork consumption and 33 percent a decrease. Nearly 66 percent said that they used less meat after renting a locker. This may have been be- cause of high meat prices in 1947-48. Possible effects on livestock markets. The estimated amount of meat processed per locker by 86 locker firms and the amount of meat stored by 87 users of home units have been given in preceding sections (Tables 5 and 11). If it is assumed that, in the state as a whole, 320 pounds of meat is processed per locker and 495 pounds per home unit, then 11 percent of the meat consumed in Illinois during 1948 was frozen. Most of this meat was eaten by farm families. As already men- tioned, about 120,000 of the 179,000 families having lockers are rural families, and about 48,000 of those having home units but no lockers live in rural areas. Thus, on the basis of the 1940 Census, about 29 percent of the rural families have lockers or home units. On the other hand, only about 4 percent of the urban families have lockers or home units. It has already been remarked that the decreased pork consump- tion by farm families with freezer storage service has been reflected in the decreased number of hogs that have been slaughtered on the farm for home use. Pork, when frozen, does not retain its original flavor as well as beef. As frozen meats become more generally accepted, the greater demand for beef will probably be reflected in the livestock market. If 20 percent of the urban families were using lockers and home units instead of the present 4 percent, the increase in demand for beef and the decrease in demand for pork could be appreciable. 452 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, PROBLEMS CONFRONTING SELLERS AND USERS OF LOCKER AND HOME- UNIT SERVICE The locker industry at its present stage of development has a number of problems to solve before it can be assured of future success and expansion. Small single-unit firms, in particular, face the problem of competing with larger multiple-unit firms. All locker firms find that careful planning is needed to minimize the disadvantages inherent in the seasonality of locker work. And with the rise of the home-unit industry there is the added challenge of developing nonrental income to make up for the decline in rental income. As locker firms augment their income by processing and performing other services for home units, they will be on their way to solving a problem that faces both the locker and the home-unit industry that of competition. Cooperation between the two industries is neces- sary to meet this problem. Another problem that faces both industries is that of discharging their responsibilities to their customers and furnishing satisfactory, reliable service. Sellers and users of freezer storage both have an interest in the dissemination of reliable information that will give the customer the most satisfaction and use from his locker or home unit. Making the Small Single-Unit Firm Pay Over 40 percent of the locker plants in Illinois have 350 lockers or less. Some problems of a small-scale operation that place it at an economic disadvantage in competing with larger locker plants are: (1) higher unit overhead costs, including management; (2) lack of ability to provide all the services larger plants can offer; (3) necessity of buying supplies in smaller quantities at higher costs. If costs to customers are not comparable with those charged by others and the same services are not offered, customers will go elsewhere. Three patterns for meeting this situation have developed: 1 . A firm either buys or builds other plants, so that the operation covers several communities. In the areas of Illinois where locker plants are oldest this practice is especially prevalent. The cooperative plants follow this pattern quite extensively. 2. Small firms operate independently but pool their purchases of containers and other supplies, thereby taking advantage of carload rates. 3. Each firm operates as an independent operating unit providing storage and cutting, wrapping, and freezing services, but one plant will cure and smoke for several plants in the area, another one will 1950} FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 453 slaughter, another will render lard, and so on. This permits the degree of specialization practiced in larger plants. With the proper balance in specialization, a more uniform quality of product and greater effi- ciency in the use of labor and equipment are usually possible. Compared with large firms and their associated economies or with small firms that acquire many of the advantages of adequate size by cooperation with other plants, small locker plants with no outside connections may become more and more infrequent. Their per-unit operating and overhead costs may be so high as to discourage business. An exception may be small plants operating in connection with some other business which covers all costs of the locker plant except out- of-pocket costs. Seasonally of Locker Work Under the most favorable conditions locker work is seasonal and under ordinary conditions very seasonal. This seasonal variation in volume of food processed is a major problem for locker operators for two reasons: 1 . It requires excessive capital investment to handle the peak volume, particularly investment in cooler and sharp-freeze space. $900 750- 600 - 450 - a. 300 - 150 - MEAT CURED AND SMOKED MEAT CUT. WRAPPED & FROZEN AV Average monthly processing income per plant, by source, for 24 Illinois locker plants, 1947. Meat processing is the most important source. (Fig. 4) 454 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, 2. It makes the efficient use of labor difficult. While a large force is needed at the busiest season, there is not enough work the rest of the year to warrant full-time employment of all workers. Further- more many units at present are not large enough for efficient use of labor in the processing rooms during the busiest season. The extent to which labor requirements fluctuate from month to month is indicated by the monthly variation in average processing income for 24 plants (Fig. 4) . Locker income from processing is highest in December and January because of the greater amount of meat handled in those months. Cutting, wrapping, and freezing meat is the major source of income, followed by curing and smoking meat. However, in the summer months processing fruits and vegetables accounts for a relatively important part of the lower total income. The relative importance of various sources of processing income in different months is shown in Fig. 5. Sources of a dollar of income from processing, for each month, based on the average of 24 Illinois locker plants, 1947. (Fig. 5) Four methods or any combination of two or more may be used to reduce seasonal variability: 1 . Employ seasonal labor. In certain areas it is possible to obtain seasonal labor in the winter among men who work on farms, for ice companies, etc. However, in many areas this is not practical. 2. Expand operation through inclusion of supplementary enter- prises such as making ice and ice cream, processing fruits and vege- tables, etc. 1950} FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 455 3. Use variable rates for processing. Charge half a cent a pound less for processing meat during July, August, and September than at the peak of the season. 4. Educate customers. Show how they can use their lockers most effectively. Some plants that have operated for a number of years and have developed a definite customer education program have less seasonal variation in income than do new plants or older plants without such a program. Relation Between Rental and Nonrental Income Locker plant operators often say that their profit comes from processing, but many outside the industry submit facts and figures to prove the profit is from locker rentals. Plants can be found to illus- trate each view. In general, however, there seems to be a shift in emphasis from rental to nonrental income. Cooperative plants in Illinois in the fiscal years ending between October 1, 1943, and September 30, 1944, re- ceived 51 percent of their income from rentals, but in 1946-47 this rental income had decreased to 42 percent. 1 It is likely that the relative importance of rental income has de- clined even more since 1946-47. That year, and also in the winter of 1947-48, very few Illinois plants had vacant lockers, but in the winter of 1948-49 many had vacancies. If a locker plant is operating at two- thirds of capacity, rental income could be a loss rather than a profit item. The fixed costs of interest and depreciation do not decrease as the unit is operated at less than capacity. Power costs change little as consumption of power varies but slightly with amounts of products stored. At the same time unit rates are going up in many places. The decrease in rental income as compared with nonrental income appears to be due either directly or indirectly to the expansion of the home-unit industry. In the past many locker plants have had little or no competition, since they have been in communities with no other locker plants. As a relatively large amount of capital is necessary to enter the business, new firms have been reluctant to build where com- petition seems probable. Rental rates therefore have tended to be higher than if there were competition. However, now that the home- unit industry has entered the field, high locker rentals are leading to vacancies and encouraging purchase of home units. At present the locker plant still has a cost advantage over the home unit, but this cost advantage is not always great enough to outweigh the convenience of having freezer storage space in the home. 1 Farm Credit Administration. Miscellaneous report 122, p. 12. 456 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, A readjustment of rental rates could probably fill the lockers and increase the incomes of many plants. For example, if 20 percent of the lockers were not rented and lowering rates by 10 percent would rent all of them, total income from rentals would increase by 12^ percent, and income from processing, assuming the new customers were as good as the old, would increase by 25 percent. The increased use of home units has caused many locker managers to concentrate on processing and other services as a source of income. As already noted, the decline in relative importance of locker income began even while the lockers were all rented. As home units are used more generally, nonlocker income will increasingly become the place to seek earnings. Other advantages of developing the potentialities of nonlocker in- come are that: 1. Adding new lockers involves considerable expenditure, while increased income from other sources is often possible with little or no added capital and quite frequently little or no added expense for labor or other out-of-pocket costs. 2. After a locker plant is built, technological advances in refriger- ation, insulation, etc., are adopted slowly because of high costs. But in the nonrental items methods can change rapidly to keep pace with the changing technological situation. Developing nonrental income of course has problems. Labor, the major single cost item, is purchased in a competitive market. And, while most plants are not yet unionized, union activities have begun in a number of areas. Unions consider locker plants to be small slaughter or processing plants. The union wage scales are based on prevailing city rates, with little or no consideration given to the dif- ferent situations prevailing in small towns. Unionization, if carried to the ultimate conclusion, would force inefficient plants to close and compel other plants to increase their labor efficiency or to charge higher rates x or both. On the other hand, charges for slaughter, processing, and other services must meet competition. If charges are too high, new firms will slaughter and process for home units, so processing fees must stay near the competitive level. Will Home Units Compete With or Complement the Locker Industry? Until very recently there was little competition between home units and locker plants. Each was providing a service with little con- sideration to the other. All lockers were rented, and home units were sold to users as soon as received by the dealers. But conditions have 1960] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 467 changed; empty lockers are often mentioned, and home units are ac- cumulating on the display floor. As the output of the home-unit manufacturers continues to expand, the possibilities of competition will become greater. In 1947 the 6,182,000 lockers in the United States had approximately 36 million cubic feet of zero storage space. The estimated one million home units in use provided 8 to 10 million cubic feet. This gave a ratio of home- unit storage space to locker space of about one to four. By 1950, manufacturers of home units hope to have two million units in use, or 16 to 20 million cubic feet; expansion in zero storage space in locker plants will be much less, so that the ratio will change to per- haps one to two. In the next ten years it is expected that the number of home units in use will reach and pass the 5 million mark. The home-unit system of storing and preserving frozen foods has a number of advantages (page 449). Since it furnishes the ultimate in decentralization of refrigeration and storage facilities, its chief advantage is convenience. The locker, on the other hand, providing centralized refrigeration and storage facilities, is able to offer these facilities at a lower cost. Comparative costs. Income to any industry must be enough to cover (1) returns on invested capital adequate to induce firms to stay in the industry and make necessary replacements; (2) normal depre- ciation; and (3) out-of-pocket operating expenses. Since 1944 construction costs have mounted rapidly in both the locker and the home-unit industries, but the locker still has an eco- nomic advantage in space cost. On the basis of figures obtained from the locker plants in this study, construction costs for a 5- or 6-cubic- foot locker (which is about average size) are estimated to have been $11.92 per cubic foot in 1945; $12.71 in 1946; and $14.58 in 1947. These costs included some slaughtering space in the buildings as well as coolers, processing rooms, etc., so they are high as an over-all figure. Delivery cost of 72 home units ranged from $27.15 per cubic foot for units 19 cubic feet and over in size, to $50.47 per cubic foot for those 6 cubic feet and under. While some of these units were bought before the war, most of them were purchased after its conclusion. Common depreciation rates in locker plants are: for buildings and insulation, 3 percent; for refrigeration equipment and lockers, 10 per- cent. The former make up roughly two-thirds of the investment and the latter one-third, making the average rate 5 1/3 percent. With home units an over-all depreciation of 8 percent should be comparable. Lockers again have an economic advantage from this standpoint. A study of 44 locker plants in Illinois 1 showed an average kilowatt hour (KWH) consumption of 73.0 per locker during the fiscal year 1 Farm Credit Administration. Miscellaneous report 122, p. 30. 458 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, ending in 1947. This is equivalent to 1.2 KWH per cubic foot per month. The average consumption of electricity for a home unit is 3 to 10 KWH per cubic foot per month. Again the locker has the ad- vantage. In addition, a locker plant has a lower unit cost of power than a home. The lower construction costs, depreciation rates, and operating expense of the locker industry are partly offset by the costs of hired labor. Also, future technological improvements in the home-unit industry may reduce the economic advantage now held by the locker industry. Both lockers and home units are so new that later models and methods may make existing ones obsolete. But since the home- unit industry has begun to expand more recently, it can be expected to grow faster than the locker-plant industry during the next ten years, and it will therefore be in a better position to utilize new improve- ments. Locker managements will have to keep abreast of current de- velopments to maintain the present economic advantage of the locker industry. Possibilities for cooperation. With the number of home-unit users expected to reach the 2 million mark by 1950, the proper preparation, freezing, and storage of foods becomes a much greater problem than when all the work was done by 10,000 locker plants and half a million users of home units. This situation presents a challenge to locker plants to expand their services. By meeting the situation with an atti- tude of cooperation, locker-plant operators can keep their lockers rented, use labor more efficiently through expanded processing activi- ties, and build up a large business selling meats, packaged foods, sup- plies, and containers. They have the facilities and experience to per- form these services effectively. As already mentioned (pages 440 and 456) a number of managers have been taking steps to furnish home- unit users with needed supplies and services. The home-unit manufacturers and dealers, if they are to have satisfied customers, need to have close working relations with organi- zations that can furnish supplies and service, processing facilities, and fresh and frozen foods to customers at a quantity discount. Either the two industries can go their separate ways and not develop fully and rapidly, or they can work together and continue to make progress. Insuring Reliable Service Users of lockers and home units list such disadvantages as high cost, poor service, and defective units (Tables 7 and 15). Improved service and better understanding between users and sellers of space are needed. Since locker plants and home units store highly perishable products, the primary obligation of managers and dealers is to provide customers with satisfactory storage conditions. I960] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 459 Manufacturers of home units have a responsibility to put out a good product and to sell it on an enduring performance basis. It is to their interest to have reliable dealers who by guaranteeing and giving adequate service can build up a flourishing, permanent business. Buy- ers should beware of a dealer who cannot furnish maintenance at a reasonable cost either because of company policy or untrained per- sonnel. The problem of maintaining good storage service also faces the locker industry. Some locker concerns are not on a sound financial basis, and a few times utilities have been shut off when operators failed to pay their bills. Whenever this happens, of course, several hundred families face spoilage losses. It is possible that in the next few years this situation will occur more often. Everyone in the industry needs to consider the problem carefully and arrive at a practical and equitable solution. Legislation protecting the consumer against loss due to irrespon- sible or poorly financed locker operators would be to the interest of the industry. Administration of whatever law were passed could be handled by the Division of Foods and Dairies, State Department of Agricul- ture. The following suggestions are subject to certain criticisms, but each is worth careful consideration. 1 . Analyze the annual utilities expense for each plant. Require each plant by February 1 to place in escrow a sum equivalent to one- sixth of the preceding year's utility bill. Require new plants to make a payment of, say, 75 cents per locker until experience can serve as a guide. A utility company would not be allowed to apply this escrow account for delinquent bills until a public hearing was held. 2. Make mortgage creditors responsible for the utility bills, no plant to be closed for nonpayment without first holding a public hearing. No plant should be closed for at least 90 days after the public hearing; a notice would be mailed to each renter at least seven days prior to the hearing, and a full report of the findings mailed to each renter not more than three days after the hearing. 3. Require each operator to carry a bond to insure that the plant would not be closed because of default on utility bills. Information Needed Both consumers and agencies selling storage service are interested in wide dissemination of information about varieties of fruits and vegetables best adapted to freezing. Constant work is being done to develop new varieties and to improve existing ones. More educational work is needed on methods of preparing fruits and vegetables for freezing. While much good information has been 460 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, compiled, it has not been made readily available for easy distribution. Methods of cooking and serving frozen foods also need more attention. Since the user is interested in economical storage, sellers of the storage service must also be concerned about economy if they want satisfied customers. Showing customers how to plan storage and with- drawals will encourage more efficient use and a lower cost storage. For example, if 120 pounds of meat are stored in a locker renting for $15 a year, the storage costs 12.5 cents a pound; but if 200 pounds of meat and 75 pounds of fruit and vegetables are stored, the cost is only 5.4 cents a pound. SUMMARY The locker industry for storage of frozen foods has grown rapidly since the middle thirties, while the home-unit freezer industry has made rapid progress more recently. These methods of food preserva- tion have been accepted more readily in rural than in urban areas. In the early years a locker plant simply provided space and facili- ties to freeze and store foods and, in most cases, to cut and wrap meat. This service has since expanded to include complete processing of meats and other products and merchandising of meats, frozen fruits and vegetables, poultry, home units, and home-unit supplies. The principal advantages of renting a locker as listed by locker customers are that storage is less work than canning and that use of frozen food is convenient and permits a better, more palatable diet the year round. Reasons given by people who have stopped renting lockers were (1) purchase of home unit; (2) inconvenience; (3) high rental or processing fees, and (4) poor service. Home-unit users reported the following advantages: (1) convenience and easy accessibility; and (2) efficiency in freezing small amounts of fruits, vegetables, etc. Locker users would like to have the plants provide more services but at the same time keep down unit costs. Users of frozen storage facilities consume more beef and less pork than they did before having frozen storage. Locker renters stored two and a half times as much fruit as vegetables in their lockers. Home- unit users stored only about a fifth more fruit than vegetables. Home units are smaller if a locker is also rented than if no locker is used. Farm families have larger home units, on the average, than town families. If a family also rents a locker most of the home-unit proc- essing is done by the locker plant; if no locker is rented, about 55 percent of the processing is done by a locker plant. Users of lockers or home freezers can keep unit storage costs down by storing large quantities of food in the available space. Farm families stored enough food in their home units to fill them an average 1950} FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 461 of 1% times a year, while town families filled theirs 1% times. Locker customers filled their lockers on an average of nearly twice a year. Locker operators have a number of problems to solve. One is the seasonal nature of locker work. The following measures for meeting this problem are possible: (1) use of seasonal labor; (2) supple- mentary enterprises; (3) variable processing rates; and (4) customer education. Decrease of rental income is another problem. Until recently all lockers have been rented at relatively high rates, and rental income has been one of the most important single income items. In the winter of 1948-49, however, there were many vacant lockers. Since overhead expenses for electricity, depreciation, taxes, interest, etc., vary little in relation to the number of lockers rented, the possibility of increasing total and net income by lowering rentals should be considered. Individual locker plants are relatively small businesses. Three plans have been followed to secure the advantages of larger organizations: 1 . Several plants are owned by the same firm, permitting certain economies in purchasing supplies and using labor, equipment, and management. 2. Many small plants, each individually owned, purchase their supplies cooperatively. 3. One plant provides a specialized service such as curing and smoking for several nearby firms. Although home units have certain advantages over lockers, they are more expensive to operate. However, during the next decade ex- pansion in the home-unit industry will probably be more rapid than in the locker industry. In part this reflects a difference in the age of the two industries. 462 BULLETIN No. 535 [January, APPENDIX Charges for various locker services as reported by 1 1 2 Illinois locker plants, September 1, 1947 Table 16. Number of Locker Plants That Charged Specified Rates per Pound for Various Services in Handling Meat Charge (cents per pound) wjS35. *" and freezing Curing and smoking Sausage grinding Lard rendering For locker renters For non- renters Grind- ing only Grind- ing and making Finish weight Green weight 1 9 1 6 '2 3 1 '7 2 23 48 5 18 57 3 32 4 15 3 4 10 'e 1 9 "i 4 '2 'i 'i 10 5 5 '3 "i ii i 28 1 2 '3 1 2 . 24 . . . . 2 2ix 39 3 . 38 5 4 . 1 3 Table 17. Number of Locker Plants That Charged Specific Rates per Pound for Various Services in Handling Poultry, Fish, and Fruits and Vegetables Charge (cents per Wrapping and freezing Freezing fruits Chickens Turkeys Fish vegetables 1. . 1 17 22 26 8 4 1 19 15 23 3 . 2 9 2 4 8 9 1 'i 2 16 2 1 A 22 3 25 3^. . . 8 4 4 Table 18. Number of Plants That Charged Specific Rates per Pint and Quart for Handling Fruits and Vegetables and per Bird for Wrapping and Freezing Poultry Charge (cents) Freezing fruits and Vegetables Charge per bird (cents) Wrapping and freezing poultry Pints Quarts Chickens Turkeys 1-1J^. . 3 1 . 21 2-2 H 45 2 10-14 12 3-31/6. . . 31 36 15-19 1 2 4-41/6 2 26 20-24. . . 1 5 and over 1 17 25-29 5 .... 5 1950] FROZEN FOOD LOCKERS AND HOME UNITS 463 Table 19. Number of Locker Plants That Charged Specific Rentals per Year for Lockers in Various Tiers of Doors and Drawers Rental per year Tierl" Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 Tier 6 Tier 7 Tier 8 Drawer type $11.50-12.49 7 7 6 3 N 12 50-13 49 4 3 1 3 13 50-14.49 42 42 27 13 O 14 50-15 49 29 26 21 15 15 50-16 49 . . 17 19 11 5 N 16.50-17.49 3 3 2 17 50-18 49 . . 4 4 3 1 E 18 50 and over 5 5 5 3 1 Door type Less than $9.50 3 2 $ 9.50-10.49 1 2 4 12 13 5 1 10.50-11.49 1 3 9 6 3 11.50-12.49 1 17 32 42 35 6 1 12.50-13.49 5 13 20 13 7 13.50-14.49 9 12 13 8 4 14.50-15.49 . .. .. 1 6 7 2 15.50-16.49 1 16 50-17 49 17.50-18.49 1 1 18.50 and over 1 1 B "Tier 1" refers to the bottom tier. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA