FACTSHEETS

FOOD RATIONING

During the war, lots of different kinds of food and drink were in short supply. This was because nearly three quarters of food eaten came from abroad and British ships carrying food were being sunk by Nazi ships and submarines.

In 1940, a system was introduced to allow everyone to have their fair share or ration of food – rationing. Foods that were rationed include: sugar, meat, tea and cheese and, by 1942, even sweets! Pictured left is a typical ration book cover. Every man, woman and child had to have their own ration book and they swapped the coupons in them for groceries. The shopkeeper stamped the ration book to show that the customer had received what they were allowed.

The weekly food allowance for one adult was:
113g lard or butter
340g sugar
113g bacon
2 eggs
170g meat
57g tea

Later, points were introduced as well as rationing and every person had 16 points that could be used for tinned food. As well as this, people were allowed:

1 packet of dried milk every four weeks
1 packet of dried eggs every four weeks
350g of sweets every four weeks
450g of preserves (jam and marmalade) every eight weeks.

At the beginning of rationing, only butter, sugar and bacon were rationed but by the middle of 1940, meat, eggs, cheese, jam, tea and milk were rationed. The government was determined not to ration bread, and in 1941, introduced the National Loaf, which had to be a minimum of 85% wholegrain. Many people did not like this though as it was an unpleasant grey colour.

Items such as bread and some vegetables were not rationed as strictly and long queues grew up in front of shops in which they were sold. People tried their best to be healthy but it was very difficult as food was so scarce. Rations had to last all week so it was very important that people did not waste food. If you did not eat your meat it was minced up and used to make something else to eat. The government encouraged people to do things like this in a campaign called Waste Not, Want Not.