BECOMING SHOPPERS: NC Food Consumption and Production

The Second World War caused America's food problem to turn on its head. During the 1930s, too much food was being grown. When the war started, suddenly there wasn't nearly enough food to go around. Several things changed with the outbreak of WWII: the federal government was buying up large amounts of food to feed the troops; there were less people to grow the crops, because young men on the farm were being called to fight; certain foods, like fat leftover from cooking meat, could be used to make bombs and other war materials; and European countries busy with war were unable to produce their own food and wanted to buy American crops.

Families were encouraged to grow "Victory Gardens" so that they could eat without buying up food meant for the fighting troops. Women were told to conserve as much as possible when cooking. Fats were a particular interest, because they could be used in explosives. Women were told to carefully save the fat runoff from their meat cooking and deliver it to their grocer once a week. Now, conserving food, growing backyard vegetable gardens, and canning for the winter were not just things poor people did; they were things patriotic people did. The Second World War was a period of food scarcity, but it was also a time of national pride.

Rationing

Eventually, after being asked to conserve food for several years, Americans were told to conserve food began to be rationed in 1942. Each family received a certain number of ration points with which to buy food. Once their points ran out, they were not allowed to buy additional food. With such food shortages, it became even more imperative for home demonstration agents to teach families how to conserve food. Although many rural and low-income North Carolinian had a great deal of experience getting by on limited food, many middle-class families had no experience meeting the demands of the wartime rationing system. During the war, demonstration agents worked with a much wider range of people.