Seventy years ago, on 4 July 1954, rationing in Britain finally came to an end. We talk to author Claud Fullwood who is drawing on the wisdom of World War Two to help us revolutionise how we minimise food waste and make food go further today.
Claud has written a book called “The Rations Challenge”, about reverting to the wartime techniques of making our food last.
Key to this idea is not letting things go to waste, and being as resourceful as possible in the face of scarcity.
When she wrote her book, Claud had no idea that we would be facing similar challenges through the difficult days of lockdown – though, of course, nowhere near on the scale of what our forebears had to endure.
So we thought we’d share these videos from during World War II.
Few of us can remember what it was really like, but these amazing videos we can take a fascinating glimpse back into those days.
And, more importantly, how people’s rose up to the challenge.
This next one is a great short American film about the way rationing was implemented in the States.
And in addition to every spare bit of British land being worked for food, the Americans still did their best to ship out supplies to Europe as well as their troops, as this video explains.
How we can save money and food today
If you’ve come up with any nifty ways of using up spare food, or have any great tips for keeping things fresher for longer or recipes for those back-of-the-store-cupboard items, get in touch with us!
We’d love to hear your stories of the creative ways you save money on food, use up leftovers or how you live more sustainably. Pop over to our Facebook page and share your thoughts.
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Alex Corlett I am the "Friend's" Features Editor, working with the talented Features Team to bring you everything from cryptic crosswords to financial advice, knitting patterns to international travel and inspirational real life stories. Always on the hunt for a new feature idea, I also enjoy cycling and love a good tea room.
