Food and the Experience of Inmates of the Toronto Magdalene Asylum and Industrial House of Refuge, 1853–1883

Abstract

On May 13, 1853, the Toronto Magdalene Asylum and Industrial House of Refuge opened its doors to women considered to be the “outcasts” of Toronto. Over the following decades, the institution housed hundreds of working-class women who were required to follow strict rules, engage in Protestant religious practices, and learn employable domestic skills. This article focuses on the food consumed by inmates and how their diet influenced their daily lives within the institution. It explores how food was wielded by institutional founders as a restorative tool, a method of control, and as a form of charity. Ultimately, the article illustrates the nuanced role that food served within the lives of women institutionalized at the Asylum during the latter years of the nineteenth century.