World War Two Ration Book Facts You Will Find Surprising

One of the worst times to be alive was certainly during the World Wars.

The Second World War was especially hard due to all the food rationing that took place in the UK and the USA. Local authorities and rationing committees had to keep the consumption low due to lack of supply and there was no chance of wasting food.

The ration books were a primary way for the working class to get access to their weekly food ration during the war. Even though this reflected the war effort of a country, it was hard to serve proper meals, especially for the bigger families. Many people also took to growing their own food.

So, do keep reading if you're interested in knowing the World War Two ration book facts.

Food Supply During World War Two

The rationing on food consumption can be viewed as a way to push the war effort of a country. But, one of the primary reasons behind it was the shortage of even essential food items.

Before the Second World War started, a country like Britain used to import around 55 million tons (55 billion kg) of food every year from the rest of the world. However, this would invariably be cut short as the world was going through turmoil, and so rationing was started in 1939.

Another reason for the shortage of supply was due to German boats constantly attacking the British ships, which led to the wastage of food.

Moreover, the government did think that the circumstance could quickly become worse for the poor as they will be left without any food. So, the rationing system guaranteed a particular amount of food for everyone to keep them fed.

Sugar and coffee saw some of the most shortages as it was mainly procured from South America. Along with high costs, the supply ships would have had to pass by enemy ships, leading to conflict.

So, these items were regarded as luxuries and only a small amount was rationed to people.

In the USA, posters, as well as advertisements, were used to urge people into growing and canning their own food, while leaving the factory-processed items for the soldiers at war. Easy to cook items like macaroni and cheese became sensational as it only required a few points to prepare it.

Rationing System

The rationing system was a way to limit the consumption of commodities amongst the people in a country during the war.

In the UK as well as the USA, ration books were issued that had stamps or coupons which served as points that could be exchanged weekly for a certain amount of food.

In the USA, rationing started in 1942 after entering the war, while in the UK it was initiated back in 1939. The Ministry of Food looked after the rationing in the UK, while the Office of Price Administration (OPA) was the body in charge in the USA.

The first list of food items to be rationed was bacon, butter, and sugar, which were quickly followed by meat, egg, jam, peas, canned food, breakfast cereals, meat, and cooking fat.

The only things that were left out of the rationing system were fresh fruits and vegetables. But, in the UK, a shortage of tomatoes was seen, and the item was rationed in 1942.

Children and expecting mothers were given priority for some food items like milk and eggs.

At the end of the Second World War, the USA was said to have had 5,600 local rationing boards, which were staffed by more than 100,000 volunteers.

The USA was better at dealing with rationing due to the experience of the Great Depression, and the rationing was ended by 1947. But, the UK took a while to recover from the war, and the meat rationing was there till 1954 until the de-rationing took place.

Having said that, we need to realize that rationing was seldom perfect and both the countries had to deal with black markets as well as people flocking to stores for buying an item that has been declared to be rationed.

The Ministry Of Food

As we said already, the Ministry of Food was the body involved in rationing food items in the UK.

The Minister of Food was the main person elected during the period of 1939–1958 to decide on the food rationing and its changes. A similar post called the Minister of Food Control was also active during the First World War.

In 1939, W. S. Morrison was appointed the first Minister of Food, but Lord Woolton soon replaced the post. While, Derick Heathcoat-Amory was the last person to hold the post which was soon to have the title, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food.

Lord Woolton played a major role in rationing food and took care of around 50,000 employees as well as the local offices working for the sector.

After going through the ideas of different schemes, on the advice of economists, Woolton and his team adopted the idea of rationing via points that would be allocated to people or families every month.

Lord Woolton was also the person who assured the people of Britain about the presence of enough food for everyone, especially when the German troops started to attack. When The Blitz began in 1940, Woolton was ready with over 200 feeding stations in London and other cities.

He figured out the foods that would have been easier to find and even asked the mathematician, Martin Roseveare, to design the ration books to be used by the citizens.

Due to Woolton, the Ministry of Food was able to feed 650,000 children free meals when they were in schools, and about 3,500,000 children were blessed to receive milk at school. He even popularized recipes, especially the 'Woolton pie' that was made with easy-to-find food supplies that were nutritious and tasty.

His contribution to the rationing system is said to be an essential part of the victory of the UK.

FAQs

Q. What things were rationed during WWII?

A. A lot of things were rationed by the OPA or Office of Price Administration due to the rising prices and shortage of supply.

Some of the commercial things that were rationed included automobiles, fuel oil, tires, gasoline, coal, firewood, silk, nylon, and shoes. However, what took people by surprise the most was food rationing. The maintenance of ration books helped to keep a track of the foods people were buying.

Q. When did ration books end in the UK?

A. In the UK, food rationing and the use of ration books ended in 1954 almost nine years after World War II ended.

Q. What did they have for breakfast in World War Two?

A. The food consumed during World War was differentiated based on if you're a soldier or a regular person living in the war-consumed country. Due to the short supply of food, people had to satisfy themselves with small meals of pork, beef, beans, bread, butter, fresh vegetables, and fruit. Breakfast cereals were especially popular in the USA.

Q. How did rations work in WWII?

A. During World War II, people were given ration books with food stamps. Based on these stamps, a family would have received a certain amount of commodities only from specified retailers after proper registration.

Q. Why was coffee rationed in WWII?

A. Rather than short supply being the reason behind restrictions on coffee, it was due to the huge cost that would have been needed to transport the delicious beans from South America. So, imported foods like sugar and coffee were strictly rations.

Q. How much is a WWII ration book worth?

A. Well, even though the ration books are a great piece of history and stand for the war effort of a country, the wide availability of the book places the worth between $2-$4, unless it's fascinating or special.

Q. What was the weekly ration per person in WWII?

A. The weekly ration per person during WWII depended on the restrictions of a specific country along with the state of food production.

Like in the UK, a typical weekly food ration for one person would have consisted of 2 oz (50 g) butter, 4 oz (100 g) bacon and ham, 8 oz (225 g) sugar, 3 pt (1,800 ml) milk, one fresh egg, 2 oz (50 g) tea, and one shilling and sixpence worth of meat.