I’ve known older Americans who lived poor and went through the depression of the 1930s.
When times were good they raised and canned lots of food because they knew hard times may be just around the corner.
During WWII my Sister-in-law’s husbands family had their home grown food supply confiscated by government agents because someone said they were “hoarding”. They had to live on food stored in another cellar way out in the Texas hills till the new crops came in.
Even in more affluent times they could not stand to see food wasted. As late as 1963 my aunt would save grease from foods to make soap even though store bought soap was cheap.
It appears many of today’s adults have forgotten those hard times and lessons.
“As late as 1963 my aunt would save grease from foods to make soap...”
We still do that. My wife’s ‘grandma’s lye soap’ is pure and unadulterated with all the stuff that goes into detergents that they call soap. We use it for everything, including bathing, washing hair and washing clothes in the washing machine. We do have soft water. Sometimes we might add 20 Mule Team Borax or trisodium phosphate to the homemade stuff in the washing machine.
And btw, the homemade soap will stop poison ivy in its tracks...get into some, just wash with this soap.
You just described my grandmother who I lived with til I was about 12. She always had a huge garden and canned everything. I spent hours and hours shucking corn etc. getting it ready for her. Every spare scrap of material was turned into quilts. All buttons and zippers were ripped off old clothing and saved. Absolutely nothing was discarded.