breadbasket

Breadbasket is a term with several related meanings. In its most literal sense, a breadbasket is a small basket used on dining tables to hold bread or rolls. These baskets are commonly woven from wicker or cane and may be lined with cloth or include a lid for keeping bread warm.

In its geographic sense, breadbasket refers to a region that supplies a large share of a country’s or continent’s staple grains. The phrase highlights agricultural productivity and food security. Notable examples include the United States Midwest and Great Plains; parts of Ukraine and Russia; the Po Valley in Italy; and the North China Plain.

Colloquially, breadbasket can also refer to the abdomen or belly in informal speech, as in the phrase “the breadbasket” or “in the breadbasket.”

The concept emphasizes how certain regions underpin urban populations by producing essential foods. As such areas have long influenced trade patterns, agricultural policy, and discussions of food security, both historically and in contemporary planning.