CAMBRIDGE CARBON FOOTPRINT

PRESENTS

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

Challenge End date:...................

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.

SUGAR

8oz/227g

MARGARINE

4oz/113g

BACON AND HAM

4oz/113g

CHEESE

2oz/57g

OIL / LARD

2oz/57g

TEA

2oz/57g

MEAT

12oz/350g

BUTTER

2oz/57g

MILK

3pints (1.71 litres)

SWEETS (per month)

12oz/340g

JAM/PRESERVES (per month)

Marmalade 2lb/900g, OR

Preserve 1lb/450g, OR

Sugar 1lb/450g

EGGS

1

FOOD RATIONS PER PERSON PER WEEK

WHY RATIONING?

2015 is the 70 year anniversary marking the end of

WWII. It is an opportunity to remember some of the

hardships that people endured in their daily lives

during and after the wartime years. Rationing in

Britain was unpopular, in other countries food short-

ages and rationing were a matter of life and death.

A rather surprising outcome of rationing in Britain

was that despite the queues, shortages and lack of

variety, people were healthier during the war years

than they are today! They consumed less meat and

dairy products, fewer processed and out of season

foods.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

This food challenge explores the common ground

between a diet from the forties/fifties and eating

sustainably today. Our current consumption of meat

and dairy products, processed goods, out of season

fruit and vegetables and foods that are flown in from

all around the world have a huge impact on our car-

bon emissions - an eye watering 30% are linked to

food.

Very little food went to waste during the war years,

so the challenge will share tips on making the most

of everything.

HOW IT WORKS

The challenge will give you a window of opportunity

to try returning to a diet largely based on seasonal

fruit and veg, grains and pulses. We do not expect

participants to only eat the types of food available in

1945 and you can eat as much as you like of every-

thing else (though we strongly encourage you to ex-

plore local, seasonal produce as much as possible).

We do ask you keep to the correct amounts for any

food rationed e.g. cheese 2oz, sugar 8oz, 1 egg. You

can choose whether to take part for a week, a fort-

night or for the whole month.

WHY (AND HOW) WE ARE RATIONING

WWII ends

1945

JULY1941

rationing of bacon,

sugar, butter

1939 WWII begins

1939

JAN 1940

all meat rationed

MAR 1940

tea and margarine

added to the list

JULY 1940

jam now rationed

MAR 1941

cheese was

rationed

MAY 1941

JUNE1941 clothes are rationed

eggs put on ration

JUNE 1941

coal rationed—

miners called up to

rice and dried fruit

added to the list

JAN 1942 FEB1942

soap rationed, to

save oil for food

coal, gas and

electricity rationed

MAR 1942

JULY1942 rationing of sweets

and chocolate

biscuits rationed

AUG 1942

1943 sausages rationed

petrol rationing

ON THE KITCHEN FRONT

ON THE WIRELESS

The ministry of food made a special radio broadcast ‘the kitchen front’ every day at 8.15am. It was full of useful hints and recipes.

TIP: The ‘Local Producers & Retailers’

resource page on the CCF website can point you in the direction of some great local suppliers.

In addition to rations, a monthly points sys-tem was also introduced to ensure that eve-ryone 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 ra-tioned, supplies were limited. Citizens were strongly encouraged to grow as much pro-duce 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 Markets to buy local veg, meat, bread, eggs and oil?

Besides food many other things were also rationed both during and after the war, in-cluding petrol, soap, clothes, coal, gas and electricity. Interestingly neither alcohol or tobacco were rationed in the belief they would help maintain morale!

Rationed foods and the amounts available changed constantly through-

out the war continuing until 1954. As you can see from the timeline be-

low, 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 it’s height.

Apart from the rationed items you can eat what you like while on the rationing chal-lenge. If you would like to try some wartime recipes we’ve listed a few below. The full recipes can be found online on the ration challenge website.

RECIPE SUGGESTION WHY COOK IT? WASTE TIP

Woolton Pie (vegetable pie)

Mocha Pudding

The vegetables in this pie can all

be grown in the UK. Eating locally

and seasonally reduces waste - up

to 40% of fruit and veg is wasted

before it’s eaten.

Monitor what you throw away. Des-

ignate a week in which you write

down everything you throw out on a

regular basis.

Cottage Pie

Chocolate pudding

Cottage pie is a good way to use up

left over meat. 18% of global cli-

mate emissions come from meat pro-

duction and cattle rearing is a ma-

jor cause of rainforest deforesta-

tion.

Buy the funny looking, misshapen

fruit and veg – it helps use up

food that others may not like.

Curried lentils

African Delight (date pudding)

Lentils are great low fat way to

get your protein. Dried pulses mean

little waste too.

Try to go shopping with a list and

stick to what’s on it.

Wartime Devilled Fish

(fish gratin)

Patriotic Pudding

Overfishing is a huge problem –

this recipe uses little fish but

tastes good! The Marine Conserva-

tion Society’s website can help you

identify abundant and threatened

varieties.

Practice FIFO. It stands for ‘First

In, First Out’. When unpacking gro-

ceries, move older products to the

front of the fridge and put new

products in the back.

Local Bean Stew

Rhubarb & Date Pudding

Hodmedods grow lots of beans and

pulses in Suffolk. Buying local

keeps cash flowing through the lo-

cal community.

Extra stew? You can freeze almost

anything apart from soft cheese. It

stores safely for years but quality

will start to deteriorate after 3

months. Best use within 6 months

but don't panic if it's been longer.

Sausage Roll with Carrots and

Parsley Potatoes

(ring of sausage meat)

Steamed Jam Pudding

Using meat as a treat rather than a

staple can save you lots of money.

An average family of four dropping

meat once a week could save £312

per year.

Extra food or produce? Try pickling

and preserving it or find a local

abundance swapping scheme.

Vegetable Ragu

Bare Cupboard Cake

Eating less meat and dairy helps

conserve water. It takes 3x more

water to produce 1kg of chicken

than 1kg of grain.

When you get your food home, keep

it in its original packaging as it’ll

last longer. Gently tie loose veg-

gies in a bag in fridge.

WAR-TIME COOKERY

OTHER RESOURCES

You can find more recipes online at www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk and www.lavenderandlovage.com. Marguerite Patten’s book ‘We’ll Eat Again’ is also a great resource.

THE BUTCHER SAYS...

During the war housewives were encouraged to eat every bit of meat available. The Ministry of Food en-couraged Britons to “introduce into the menu as often as possible… tripe, cow-heel, ox-tail, liver, kidney, hearts, tongues, rabbits, calves’ and sheep’s heads, fresh bones’ and to save all dripping and fat from boiled meats.”

Food. Is it really that crucial in the bigger scheme of things? Well, ac-tually yes and on two important fronts. A good diet is important for hu-man health, and also for the health of our planet– food is the second largest contributing factor to climate change. Nutritionists have ob-served that the foods that we should eat more frequently for our health are also those that have a lower environmental impact.

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

Be reminded in a small way of some of the hardships that peo-ple endured in their daily lives

Shift your diet so it is more in proportion with the food pyramid

Consider how much power you have to make a real difference with your food choices

FOOD FROM THE PAST, FOOD FOR THE FUTURE

Good luck with the chal lenge!

CAMBRIDGE CARBON FOOTPRINT

Cambridge Carbon Footprint helps people to reduce carbon emissions. They run many events and activ-

ities, including sustainable food challenges (like the WWII rationing challenge) and low carbon cooking

workshops.

website: cambridgecarbonfootprint.org

CAMBRIDGE SUSTAINABLE FOOD A network of individuals and organisations in Cambridge supporting local sustainable food.

website: cambridgesustainablefood.org

FOOD CYCLE 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 and growing projects.

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. website: cambridge.gov.uk/sustainability

LOVE FOOD HATE WASTE Practical advice and information we can all do to waste less food.

website: lovefoodhatewaste.com

THE PIG IDEA Campaign to encourage the use of food waste to feed pigs. They aim to lift the EU ban on feeding cater-

ing 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 peo-ple in need. website: feedbackglobal.org/campaigns/gleaning-network

FOOD FOR FOOD a social enterprise, 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 locally sourced where possible, and locally sourced products where possible. website: www.food4food.org.uk

FOOD ORGANISATIONS AND CAMPAIGNS

IN COLLABORATION WITH

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

CAMBRIDGE CARBON FOOTPRINT

The Wharf, Hooper Street Cambridge, CB1 2NZ 01223 301842 www.cambridgecarbonfootprint.org info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org