rationbook

CAMBRIDGE SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRESENTS

THE WWII
RATIONING CHALLENGE

1939 - 1954

Surname ..................................

Other Names ..............................

Address ..................................

..........................................

Serial No. of

Challenge Ration Book

Start date: ...............

Challege KP 070306
End Date: .................

FOOD FROM THE PAST, FOOD FOR THE FUTURE

HOW TO USE YOUR RATION CARD

Plan out your meals for the week and tick off each
ingredient as you buy it. This is how rationing worked

during the forties and fifties.
OR

Weigh the amount of each ingredient as you prepare your meals (or
estimate when eating out) and make a note of the amounts on your

ration card. Total up the amount of each
ingredient at the end of the week to see how you did.

FOOD RATIONS PER PERSON PER WEEK

SUGAR MARGARINE BACON AND HAM
8oz/227g 4oz/113g 4oz/113g

CHEESE OIL/ LARD TEA
2oz/227g 2oz/57g 2oz/57g
Vegetarians get
double portions! BUTTER MILK
2oz/57g 3 Pints(1.71
MEAT
12oz/350g litres)

SWEETS JAM/PRESERVES EGGS
12oz/340g (per month)
1
Marmalade 2lb/)900g OR Vegetarians get
Preserve 1lb/450g OR double portions!
Sugar 1lb/450g

WHY (AND HOW) WE ARE RATIONING

WHY RATIONING? foods that are flown in from all around the
After the success of Cambridge Carbon world have a huge impact on our carbon
Footprint’s 2015 Rationing Challenge, emissions - an eye watering 30% are linked
we thought this summer would be a great to food.
opportunity to look back to the past to
learn some lessons in sustainability. Very little food went to waste during the
war years, so the challenge will also share
Rationing was unpopular in Britain;in tips on making the most of your food in
other countries food shortages and order to minimise leftovers.
rationing were a matter of life and death.
HOW IT WORKS
A rather surprising outcome of rationing The challenge will give you a window of
in Britain was that despite the queues, opportunity to try returning to a diet
shortages and lack of variety, people were largely based on seasonal fruit and veg,
healthier during the war years than they grains and pulses.
are today! They consumed less meat and
dairy products and less sugar as well as We do not expect participants to only eat
fewer processed and out of season foods. the types of food available in 1945 and you
can eat as much as you like of everything
LEARNING FROM THE PAST else (though we strongly encourage you to
This food challenge explores the common explore local, seasonal produce as much as
ground between a diet from the forties/ possible). We do ask you keep to the correct
fifties and eating sustainably today. Our amounts for any food rationed e.g. cheese
current consumption of meat and dairy 2oz, sugar 8oz, 1 egg. You can choose
products, processed goods, out of whether to take part for a week, a
season fruit and vegetables and fortnight or for the whole month.

ON THE KITCHEN FRONT

Rationed foods and the amounts available changed constantly
throughout the war, continuing until 1954. As you can see from the
timeline below, more items were added to the ration list as the war
went on. For our ration challenge the amounts are equivalent to those

in 1945 when rationing was at its height.

In addition to rations, a monthly points
system was also introduced to ensure that
everyone had the same fair access to extra
items. Some goods cost more points than
others. For example,16 points allowed you to
buy one can of fish or meat or 2 lb (900g) of
dried fruit or 8 lb (3.6kg) of split peas.

Although fruit and vegetables were not
rationed, supplies were limited. Citizens
were strongly encouraged to grow as much
produce as they could and use this to bulk
out their meals. The Ministry of Food shared
many tips, recipes and techniques to help
housewives preserve and cook every scrap of
food available.

For this challenge we encourage you to use
as much local, seasonal veg as possible and
keep an eye out for alternatives to rationed
foods. For example beans and pulses are an
alternative source of protein and there are
many varieties grown in East Anglia. Why not
consider joining a local veg box scheme? Or
do your weekly shop at the Cambridge Sunday
Market to buy local veg, meat, bread, eggs
and oil?

TIP: Head to the Food
Directory on CSF’s

website for places to
purchase locally sourced,

sustainable food.

ON THE WIRELESS Besides food many other things were also
The Ministry of Food rationed both during and after the war, in-
made a special radio cluding petrol, soap, clothes, coal, gas and
electricity. Interestingly neither alcohol
broadcast or tobacco were rationed in the belief they
‘the kitchen front’ would help maintain morale!
every day at 8.15am.
It was full of useful

hints and recipes

WAR-TIME COOKERY

Apart from the rationed items you can eat what you like while on the
rationing challenge. If you would like to try some wartime recipes we’ve listed a few below. The full

recipes can be found online on our ration challenge webpages.

RECIPE WHY WASTE
SUGGESTION COOK IT? TIP
Woolton Pie
(Vegatable pie) The vegetables in this pie can Monitor what you throw away.
Mocha Pudding all be grown in the UK. Eating Designate a week in which
locally and seasonally reduces you write down everything
Cottage Pie waste - up to 40% of fruit you throw out
Chocolate pudding and veg is wasted before it’s on a regular basis.
eaten.
Curried lentils Buy the funny-looking,
African Delight Cottage pie is a good way to misshapen fruit and veg –
(date pudding) use up left-over meat. 18% of it helps use up food that
global climate emissions come others may not like.
from meat production and cattle
rearing is a major cause of Try to go shopping with a
rainforest deforestation. list and stick to what’s
on it.
Lentils are a great low-fat
way to get your protein. Dried
pulses mean little waste too.

Wartime Devilled Overfishing is a huge problem Practice FIFO. It stands
Fish – this recipe uses sustaina- for ‘First In, First Out’.
(fish gratin) ble fish and tastes great! The When unpacking groceries,
Patriotic Pudding Marine Conservation Society’s move older products to the
website can help you identify front of the fridge and put
Local Bean Stew abundant and threatened new products in the back.
varieties.
Rhubarb & Date Hodmedods grow lots of beans Extra stew? You can freeze
Pudding and pulses in Suffolk. Buying almost anything apart from
local keeps cash flowing through soft cheese. It stores
Sausage Roll, the local community. safely for years but quality
Carrots and will start to deteriorate
Parsley Potatoes Using meat as a treat rather after 3 months. Best use
Steamed Jam than a staple can save you lots within 6 months but don’t
Pudding of money. An average family of panic if it’s been longer.
Vegetable Ragu four dropping meat once a week Extra food or produce? Try
could save £312 per year. pickling and preserving it
Bare Cupboard Cake or find a local abundance
Eating less meat and dairy swapping scheme.
helps conserve water. It takes
3x more water to produce 1kg When you get your food home,
of chicken than 1kg of grain. keep it in its original
packaging as it’ll last
longer. Gently tie loose
veggies in a bag in fridge.

OTHER RESOURCES THE BUTCHER SAYS...

You can find more recipes online at During the war, housewives were
encouraged to use every bit of meat available.
www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk and The Ministry of Food encouraged Britons to
www.lavenderandlovage.com.
“introduce into the menu as often as possible…

Marguerite Patten’s book ‘We’ll Eat tripe, cow-heel, ox-tail, liver, kidney, hearts,

Again’ is also a great resource. tongues, rabbits, calves’ and sheep’s heads,
fresh bones’ and to save all dripping and fat

from boiled meats.”

FOOD FROM THE PAST, FOOD FOR THE FUTURE

Food. Is it really that crucial in the bigger scheme of
things? Well, actually yes and on two important fronts. A
good diet is important for human health, and also for the
health of our planet (food being the second largest
contributing factor to climate change). Nutritionists have
observed that the foods that we should eat more frequently
for our health are often those that have a lower
environmental impact.

The double pyramid from the Barilla Center for Food and
Nutrition (above) shows the environmental food pyramid
(right) as the inverted image of the classic food pyramid
(left). The healthy pyramid on the left has much in common
with the diet of rationing times. By trying this WWII
rationing challenge we hope that you’ll:

Shift your diet towards more sustainable practices
Reap the economic benefits of a lower cost diet
Be reminded, in a small way, of the hardship that
people endured in their daily lives during the war

GOOD LUCK WITH THE CHALLENGE!

FOOD ORGANISATIONS AND CAMPAIGNS

CAMBRIDGE SUSTAINABLE FOOD
We are a network of individuals and organisations in Cambridge supporting
local sustainable food. We have a variety of projects and campaigns
including our free family cookery workshops, the Pumpkin Rescue Festival and the
Sustainable Food Pledge for local businesses. We always need volunteers!
website: cambridgesustainablefood.org

FOODCYCLE
Combines volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create tasty,
nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.
website: foodcycle.org.ul/location/cambridge

TRANSITION CAMBRIDGE
Aims to help Cambridge make the transition to ways of life that are more resilient
in the face of rising energy prices and a changing climate. They have a variety of
food growing projects including Cropshare and Growing Spaces.
website: transitioncambridge.org

CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL
Cambridge City Council delivers a wide range of services aimed at protecting and
enhancing the local environment and improving the quality of life for the people of
Cambridge. Their Recycling Champions promote food waste reduction at public events.
website: cambridge.gov.uk/sustainability

LOVE FOOD HATE WASTE
Practical advice and information about what we can all do to waste less food.
website: lovefoodhatewaste.com

THE PIG IDEA
Campaign to encourage using food waste to feed pigs. They aim to lift the EU ban on
feeding catering waste and swill to pigs.
website: thepigidea.org

THE GLEANING NETWORK
Coordinates volunteers, farmers and food redistribution charities in order to
salvage the thousands of tonnes of fruit and veg that are wasted on farms every year
and direct this fresh, nutritious food to people in need.
website: feedbackglobal.org/campaigns/gleaning-network

FOOD 4 FOOD
A social enterprise run by Winter Comfort, providing work experience to vulnerable
people. They run a community café from St Andrews Hall, and have a professional
catering business. They use donated food and source locally where possible.
website: food4food.org.uk

CAMBRIDGE CARBON FOOTPRINT

An enormous thank you to Cambridge Carbon Footprint who first developed this
challenge in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war.
We are extremely grateful to them for generously sharing their wonderful materials
with us for our own challenge.

CCF helps people to reduce carbon emissions. They run many events and activities,
including Open Eco Homes and Circular Cambridge including a number of repair cafes.

website: cambridgecarbonfootprint.org

BROUGHT TO YOU BY
CAMBRIDGE SUSTAINABLE FOOD

www.cambridgesustainablefood.org
[email protected]

@FoodCambridge

IN COLLABORATION WITH