Them Dwarven folk.

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Originally Posted by Kuruharan

I guess it all depends on how you define their “kingdom.” When the dwarves were strong they seemed to have a tendency to regard the other peoples living near them as being their subjects to some extent and from some of the descriptions its not unreasonable to assume that these other peoples might not have disagreed with that assessment. So the dwarves may not have seen it as being dependent on outsiders to get their food but were rather relying on resources they regarded as their own…at least at times when they were strong.

A very good point, Kuruharan. Re-reading the books, I find that whenever there were 'lesser' Men living near Dwarves, they held the Dwarves in great reverence(something to this effect was stated in Of Dwarves and Men) and the Dwarven kings also seemed to regard the Men as their own subjects/vassals(to some extent). For example, Thorin and Co had more authority among the Lake-men than their own Master, and it pleased them whenever they heard the Lake-men singing their praises or treating them like Lords.

As such, it wouldn't seem wrong to the Dwarves(considering their preference for crafts rather than food-growing) to buy all their food from the Men, especially if the Men were literally living right outside their Gates(Dale).