The Fruit and Flower Mission was formed in 1907 by a group of Seattle women who met in the home of Mrs. Park Weed Willis at 1316 Columbia Street. A part of the growing women's club movement in the early 20th century, the original goal of the Fruit and Flower Mission was to provide fresh flowers, fruit, and vegetables to hospital patients as they convalesced. Women would form "circles" in the various neighborhoods in town to organize their work. At the start of the Great Depression in 1929 the purpose of the Mission grew with the increased need to feed the many Seattleites who were homeless and unemployed. The Mission provided eggs, bread, and heating fuel as well as milk for expectant mothers, children and the elderly. To reflect the different mission, the name of the charitable organization was changed in 1935 to the Seattle Milk Fund. Today, the Seattle Milk Fund is still operational as one of the oldest charitable organizations in Washington State, with a mission to provide funding for educational and childcare expenses to low income families .

This cookbook features a silver cover with a stylized art deco design and bright orange end papers inside. The foreword includes the goal of the Fruit and Flower Mission membership, which "...gives dietary aid to those who are ill or undernourished, irrespective of race or creed." Featured in the cookbook are chapters with many recipes submitted by members as well as basic instruction on cooking technique.

Caption information sources: Women's Club Movement in Washington by Karen J. Blair," HistoryLink.org, Essay 9170; and Seattle Milk Fund history, retrieved at http://www.seattlemilkfund.org/history/