Coupons and Rationing During WWII

Answer 1

During World War II, many Allied countries suffered drastically due to importation being cut off from other countries. In some cases, they had to stop imports for fear of their ships being sunk by enemy vessels. On the other hand, in the race to churn out massive numbers of weapons, artillery, and other essentials for the troops, many food factories were put to use to manufacture war materials. The result was that even large first-world countries like Great Britain and the United States were in short supply of food, clothing, gasoline, and many other items. It became crucial for their entire populations to all pitch in towards conservation and rationing efforts. Rationing became highly encouraged by the governments. They pitched in various ways, suggesting that rationing would allow troops to have more and better supplies, and ultimately bring them home sooner. In this way, people were made to feel like their small personal efforts also counted towards the greater war effort. Everyone from young children to senior citizens were expected to do their bit by respecting the ration regulations. A common war-time slogan was, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". Beyond this, recycling was also a major issue. By returning materials such as aluminum cans, factories could recycle the material and create more items for army troops. The rationing system varied in some areas, but in general people were given a certain amount of ration coupons in a booklet. Each coupon allotted them a set amount of goods. When paying for their purchases, customers had to give the vendor the corresponding ration coupons. This point allowance was meant to be stretched out during the entire ration period. Accordingly, people had to pre-plan how many points they'd use over time.

Food

Food was one of the major categories of rationed items. The most commonly rationed foods included meat, fat, butter or lard, cheese, sugar, coffee, frozen fruits and vegetables, and bottled or canned goods such as baked beans and soups. A typical family would only be eligible to receive a small amount of these items with their rationing coupons. Imported fresh produce, such as lemons in Britain, was an utter rarity. People tried to cope in many ways. Some would save up their ration coupons, while others planted victory gardens. These were standard fruit, vegetable, and herb gardens that allowed civilians to grow their own fresh produce instead of having to waste precious coupons on frozen or canned foods. Wartime substitute recipes also became extremely popular. Women learned to cook less popular goods such as beef tongue, since they were more easily available. One famous recipe is known as Wacky Cake. It is a chocolate cake made without milk, eggs, or butter.

Clothing

Since clothing was also rationed, people had to resort to patching and mending old clothes as best as they could. Many women mourned the lack of silk stockings. To give the appearance of wearing stockings, they adopted the trend of drawing a line along the backs of their legs, to resemble the seam of a stocking. Other garments such as coats and shoes counted for many more points than smaller items. It became common for families to create a hand-me-down system, with younger children wearing their older siblings' cast off garments.

Rubber

Around the time of WWII, Japan was a major supplier of rubber for the United States. When they became an enemy state, the U.S. was left with a severe lack of rubber. Consequentially, they were unable to easily mass produce tires for vehicles. Immediately tires became rationed for civilians, along with other goods such as boots, toys, and gloves. The government created a nationwide call for donations of scrap rubber to be recycled into important goods including gas masks and life rafts for soldiers. Most drivers were allowed to have a maximum of five tires for the entirety of the war.

Gasoline

Due to the tire shortage, a gasoline ration was introduced to force people to drive less. Depending on their circumstances, civilians were allotted between three to eight gallons of gasoline per week. Those with special requirements, such as doctors, were granted higher amounts. To get more gas, people had to visit the Office of Price Administration and apply for more.

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