Tolkien wrote LOTR in the late 1930's, right after the Great Depression. I would guess that the UK weathered it better than places like the US dustbowl states, but it really made an impression on people. My grandparents would have a pantry full of canned food, yet claim they didn't have anything in the house to eat. And my mother who went through wartime rationing in the UK (she picked up coal that fell off the trains to heat their house), has similar behavior. So I'm not surprised if some of the older fantasy authors include lavish descriptions of food in their novels, as that would be an ideal for them.
