The Life of a Slave on a Plantation in the South

The diet of the slave largely depended upon whether he/she was a field hand or “house” Negro. Field hands ate twice a day a rough diet generally consisting of corn meal (at 11 am and after work). He/she rarely ate meat. In fact, some states (i.e. North Carolina and Louisiana) regulated what food may be furnished to the slave and expressly prohibited meat as a matter of law. "House" Negroes usually ate their master's leftovers.