My Late Mother told me that during the Depression one of the staples her Family lived on were Mayonnaise Sandwiches.
They made their own (eggs and oil) Mayonnaise and bought day old bread. I think it was actually two day old bread.
They had nothing, no Obama Phones, no EBT Cards and no Section 8 Housing. My Mother would take a bucket and wait in the Milk line with all the other poor folks in Brooklyn.
I grew up eating Mayonnaise Sandwiches, even after my Father started to make a good living. I still do once in a while. When I met my soon to be Wife, she was horrified when she saw me eat one. She ended up trying it and liking it.
I cringe when I hear a patron tell the worker at the Subway shop to “hold the mayo”. It’s like going to Tommy’s Burger and telling them to hold the Chile.
It is nonsensical to deny yourself the Nectar of the Gods.
I have had mayo sandwiches plenty of times (80’s), sometimes with beans, sometimes not. I have had tuna helper without the tuna too.
My grandma had a few of those “Depression recipes” too. One of them was “Irish spaghetti”, which was spaghetti noodles with ketchup instead of tomato sauce. Thankfully, she never cooked that after the Depression was over :)
One that she did make sometimes was “Poor Man’s Cake”... which was a raisin cake cooked with saved bacon grease instead of butter. That was delicious, and my mom still saves her bacon drippings to make it.