Kathleen
Cupcake
So I was cruising about the Internet like I often do and something caught my eye: A woman had engaged in an experiment to make do with what would have been her weekly food rations during WWII. She lives in the UK and so her weekly ration is as follows:
Bacon & Ham - 4 ounces
Meat to the value of 1 shilling and six pence (1/2 pound of minced beef)
Butter - 2 ounces
Cheese - 2 ounces
Margarine - 4 ounces
Cooking fat - 4 ounces
Milk - 3 pints
Sugar - 8 ounces
Preserves - 1 pound every 2 months
Tea - 2 ounces
Eggs - 1 fresh egg per week
Sweets/Candy - 12 ounces every four weeks
In addition, you got to spend an additional 16 points per four weeks which would get you a can of tinned fish, 2 pounds of dried fruit, or 8 pounds of dried peas.
I've not been able to find a definitive list of what one could claim in the states, but I've read it was roughly twice the UK rations. I do know that it was a pound of coffee per five weeks.
When I first started to read about the project, I was pretty sassy. "Oh, I could do that," I said with a flip of my hair....until I hit the egg and milk part. Then...sugar. I've also read that flour was sometimes scarce. Seafood and fish were not limited unless it was in a can.
So the lady who did the experiment lost a boat-load of weight, which was her goal, but I'm totally amazed that she stuck to her rations!
I also learned that rationing in the UK continued until well-past the war.
If that kind of thing returned, I believe that I could do it - but it would take some serious planning. I'd definitely have a victory garden and a backyard full of chickens!
Does anyone remember food rations during WWII or after?
Bacon & Ham - 4 ounces
Meat to the value of 1 shilling and six pence (1/2 pound of minced beef)
Butter - 2 ounces
Cheese - 2 ounces
Margarine - 4 ounces
Cooking fat - 4 ounces
Milk - 3 pints
Sugar - 8 ounces
Preserves - 1 pound every 2 months
Tea - 2 ounces
Eggs - 1 fresh egg per week
Sweets/Candy - 12 ounces every four weeks
In addition, you got to spend an additional 16 points per four weeks which would get you a can of tinned fish, 2 pounds of dried fruit, or 8 pounds of dried peas.
I've not been able to find a definitive list of what one could claim in the states, but I've read it was roughly twice the UK rations. I do know that it was a pound of coffee per five weeks.
When I first started to read about the project, I was pretty sassy. "Oh, I could do that," I said with a flip of my hair....until I hit the egg and milk part. Then...sugar. I've also read that flour was sometimes scarce. Seafood and fish were not limited unless it was in a can.
So the lady who did the experiment lost a boat-load of weight, which was her goal, but I'm totally amazed that she stuck to her rations!
I also learned that rationing in the UK continued until well-past the war.
If that kind of thing returned, I believe that I could do it - but it would take some serious planning. I'd definitely have a victory garden and a backyard full of chickens!
Does anyone remember food rations during WWII or after?