Make It Do or Do Without: 1940s Ration Recipes - Retro Housewife Goes Green (2024)

FAQs

What was the food rationing system in 1940? ›

Every man, woman and child was given a ration book with coupons. These were required before rationed goods could be purchased. Basic foodstuffs such as sugar, meat, fats, bacon and cheese were directly rationed by an allowance of coupons. Housewives had to register with particular retailers.

Supplies such as gasoline, butter, sugar and canned milk were rationed because they needed to be diverted to the war effort. War also disrupted trade, limiting the availability of some goods.

Ration books worked on a coupon system, so people could only purchase their entitlement and no more. A typical person's weekly ration allowed them 1 egg, 2 ounces each of tea and butter, an ounce of cheese, eight ounces of sugar, four ounces of bacon and four ounces of margarine.

WAR RATION BOOK FOUR

The book had four colored stamps. Green and blue stamps were used for processed foods such as canned and bottled fruits, juice, vegetables, soup, baby food, frozen food, spreads and dried foods. Red stamps continued to be used for meat. Black "spare" stamps were set up for future changes.

Even though thousands of items became scarce during the war, only those most critical to the war effort were rationed. Key goods such as sugar, tires, gasoline, meat, coffee, butter, canned goods and shoes came under rationing regulations. Some important items escaped rationing, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

Also known as the 14-Man Ration, the 'compo' ration came in a wooden crate and contained tinned and packaged food. A typical crate might include tins of bully beef, spam, steak and kidney pudding, beans, cheese, jam, biscuits, soup, sausages, and margarine.

A: Millions of ration books were issued during World War II. They were intended to prevent the hoarding of such goods as coffee, sugar, meat and other items in short supply due to the war. Ration books generally sell in the $5 to $25 range, but unlike savings bonds, you can't cash them in as you wish.

By the end of the war, rationing limited consumption of almost every product with the exception of eggs and dairy foods.

The categories of rationed foods during the war were sugar, coffee, processed foods (canned, frozen, etc.), meats and canned fish, and cheese, canned milk, and fats.

An English Breakfast during WWII. Breakfast tended to be porridge with milk if available but some families would use melted lard! OMG. A special treat was toast or bread and jam (we always had jam apparently – my grandmother would make it, but so little sugar, she relied on the fruit.

What did they eat for dinner in WWII? ›

Foods such as canned meat, rice, fish and vegetables, biscuits and cornflakes all used the points system. The weekly rations were stretched with the help of unrationed extras such as cereal, potatoes, offal and fruit, vegetables and bread, which wasn't rationed until after the war.

Children's rations were slightly different to adults. Children were entitled to extra food that was considered essential for healthy growth, such as milk and orange juice. The National Milk Scheme provided one pint of milk for every child under 5. Fruit and vegetables were not rationed but were in short supply.

Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the right ration stamp.

One pound of beef, or 3⁄4 of a pound of pork or one pound of fish, per day. One pound of bread or flour per day. Three pints of peas or beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one dollar per bushel for peas or beans. One pint of milk per man per day.

Wood pulp was bought into Britian from Norway and once Germany had taken occupation, this supply became very short. Paper was rationed from September 1939 and newspapers were limitedto the amount they could use.

For each category of food item—such as meat, sugar, and butter—a certain amount of ration stamps was given to each person. Availability of each item and the general needs of the nation determined the quantity of stamps that could be used to buy it.

Rationing regulations for food and clothing were gazetted on 14 May 1942. Rationing was introduced to manage shortages and control civilian consumption. It aimed to curb inflation, reduce total consumer spending, and limit impending shortages of essential goods.

Food rationing

When World War II began in September 1939, petrol was the first commodity to be controlled. On 8 January 1940, bacon, butter, and sugar were rationed. Meat, tea, jam, biscuits, breakfast cereals, cheese, eggs, lard, milk, canned and dried fruit were rationed subsequently, though not all at once.