https://www.cooksinfo.com/british-wartime-food/ .
Minister of Food
"The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Ministry sponsored a network of canteens known as National Kitchens. In the Second World War a major task of the Ministry was to oversee rationing in the United Kingdom arising out of World War II. The Minister was assisted by a Parliamentary Secretary.
The ministry's work was transferred in 1921 to the Board of Trade which had a small Food Department between the wars. This became its Food (Defence Plans) Department in 1937 and was then constituted as the Ministry of Food on the outbreak of war in 1939."
In April 1940 Lord Woolton, a prominent businessman, was appointed Minister of Food by Neville Chamberlain, one of a number of ministerial appointments from outside politics. Woolton retained this position until 1943. He supervised 50,000 employees and over a thousand local offices where people could obtain ration cards. His ministry had a virtual monopoly of all food sold in Britain, whether imported or local. His mission was to guarantee adequate nutrition for everyone. With food supplies cut sharply because of enemy action and the needs of the services, rationing was essential. Woolton and his advisors had one scheme in mind but economists convinced them to try point rationing. Everyone would have a certain number of points a month that they could allocate any way they wanted. They tried an experiment and it worked very well. Indeed, food rationing was a major success story in Britain's war.
In the dark days of late June 1940, with a German invasion threatened, Woolton reassured the public that emergency food stocks were in place that would last "for weeks and weeks" even if the shipping could not get through. He said "iron rations" were stored for use only in great emergency. Other rations were stored in the outskirts of cities liable to German bombing. When the Blitz began in late summer 1940 he was ready with more than 200 feeding stations in London and other cities under attack.
Woolton was faced with the task of overseeing rationing due to wartime shortages. He took the view that it was insufficient to merely impose restrictions but that a programme of advertising to support it was also required. He warned that meat and cheese, as well as bacon and eggs, were in very short supply and would remain that way. Calling for a simpler diet, he noted that there was plenty of bread, potatoes, vegetable oils, fats and milk.
By January 1941 the usual overseas food supply had fallen to half what it had been. However, by 1942 ample food supplies were arriving through Lend Lease from the U.S. and a similar Canadian programme. Lend Lease was a gift and there was no charge. Most food was now rationed. Worried about children, Lord Woolton made sure that by 1942 Britain was providing 650,000 children with free meals at schools; about 3,500,000 children received milk at school, in addition to priority supplies at home. The bad news was that his "national loaf" of mushy grey wholemeal bread replaced the ordinary white variety, to the distaste of most housewives. Children were sad to learn that supplies of sweets were reduced to save shipping space on sugar and chocolate.
Woolton kept food prices down; eggs and other items were subsidised. He promoted recipes that worked well with the rationing system, most famously the meatless "Woolton pie" which consisted of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and turnips in oatmeal, with a pastry or potato crust and served with brown gravy. Woolton's business skills made the Ministry of Food's difficult job a success and he earned a strong personal popularity despite the shortages."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Food_(United_Kingdom)
4 September 1939 to 3 April 1940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morrison,_1st_Viscount_Dunrossil
3 April 1940 11 to November 1943
In April 1940 [Woolton] was appointed as Minister of Food by Neville Chamberlain, one of a number of ministerial appointments from outside politics. Woolton retained this position until 1943. He supervised 50,000 employees and over a thousand local offices where people could obtain ration cards. His ministry had a virtual monopoly of all food sold in Britain, whether imported or local. His mission was to guarantee adequate nutrition for everyone. With food supplies cut sharply because of enemy action and the needs of the services, rationing was essential. Woolton and his advisors had one scheme in mind but economists convinced them to instead try point rationing. Everyone would have a certain number of points a month that they could allocate any way they wanted. The experimental approach to food rationing has been considered successful; indeed, food rationing was a major success story in Britain's war.
In late June 1940, with a German invasion threatened, Woolton reassured the public that emergency food stocks were in place that would last "for weeks and weeks" even if the shipping could not get through. He said "iron rations" were stored for use only in great emergency. Other rations were stored in the outskirts of cities liable to German bombing. When the Blitz began in late summer 1940 he was ready with more than 200 feeding stations in London and other cities under attack.
Woolton was faced with the task of overseeing rationing due to wartime shortages. He took the view that it was insufficient to merely impose restrictions but that a programme of advertising to support it was also required. He warned that meat and cheese, as well as bacon and eggs, were in very short supply and would remain that way. Calling for a simpler diet, he noted that there was plenty of bread, potatoes, vegetable oils, fats and milk.
By January 1941 the usual overseas food supply had fallen in half. However, by 1942 ample food supplies were arriving through Lend Lease from the U.S. and a similar Canadian programme. Lend Lease was a gift and there was no charge. Most food was now rationed. Worried about children, he made sure that by 1942 Britain was providing 650,000 children with free meals at schools; about 3,500,000 children received milk at school, in addition to priority supplies at home. The bad news was that his "national loaf" of wholemeal brown bread replaced the ordinary white variety, to the distaste of most housewives. Children learned that sweets supplies were reduced to save shipping space.
Woolton kept food prices down by subsidizing eggs and other items. He promoted recipes that worked well with the rationing system, most famously the "Woolton pie", which consisted of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and turnips in oatmeal, with a pastry or potato crust and served with brown gravy. Woolton's business skills made the Ministry of Food's difficult job a success and he earned a strong personal popularity despite the shortages.
He joined the Privy Council in 1940 and became a Companion of Honour in 1942. In 1943 Woolton entered the War Cabinet as Minister of Reconstruction, taking charge of the difficult task of planning for post-war Britain and in this role he appeared on the cover of Time on the issue of 26 March 1945.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Marquis,_1st_Earl_of_Woolton
Ministry of Food - Rationing
https://plus.google.com/103755316640704343614/posts/5af393TbvMH
The Ministry of Food: Terry Charman explores Food Rationing in World War Two | Culture24
11 November 1943 to 26 July 1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jestyn_Llewellin,_1st_Baron_Llewellin
Farming: Make Fruitful The Land - 1945 Educational Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5oSmJpB6S4
Medieval 3-field rotation - introduced by Saxons
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=1m21s
18th century population explosion
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=2m35s
clover introduced from Flanders
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=3m17s
Norfolk 4-course rotation
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=4m12s
https://youtu.be/hQYpRhkkOKs?t=7m1s
https://plus.google.com/103755316640704343614/posts/hmnY2vHt9uM
Rotation - farming calendar 1940s
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=6m43s
The Butcher, The Baker - 1947 Educational Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9yw4Kgl-_g
Village Bakery (1940-1949) - silent, subtitles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4QAaqEsza8
Modern Bakery (1940-1949)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNVhqA_ULy4 .
Food Shortages ..
Ministers of Food (1939–1958)
Minister of Food
"The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Ministry sponsored a network of canteens known as National Kitchens. In the Second World War a major task of the Ministry was to oversee rationing in the United Kingdom arising out of World War II. The Minister was assisted by a Parliamentary Secretary.
The ministry's work was transferred in 1921 to the Board of Trade which had a small Food Department between the wars. This became its Food (Defence Plans) Department in 1937 and was then constituted as the Ministry of Food on the outbreak of war in 1939."
In April 1940 Lord Woolton, a prominent businessman, was appointed Minister of Food by Neville Chamberlain, one of a number of ministerial appointments from outside politics. Woolton retained this position until 1943. He supervised 50,000 employees and over a thousand local offices where people could obtain ration cards. His ministry had a virtual monopoly of all food sold in Britain, whether imported or local. His mission was to guarantee adequate nutrition for everyone. With food supplies cut sharply because of enemy action and the needs of the services, rationing was essential. Woolton and his advisors had one scheme in mind but economists convinced them to try point rationing. Everyone would have a certain number of points a month that they could allocate any way they wanted. They tried an experiment and it worked very well. Indeed, food rationing was a major success story in Britain's war.
In the dark days of late June 1940, with a German invasion threatened, Woolton reassured the public that emergency food stocks were in place that would last "for weeks and weeks" even if the shipping could not get through. He said "iron rations" were stored for use only in great emergency. Other rations were stored in the outskirts of cities liable to German bombing. When the Blitz began in late summer 1940 he was ready with more than 200 feeding stations in London and other cities under attack.
Woolton was faced with the task of overseeing rationing due to wartime shortages. He took the view that it was insufficient to merely impose restrictions but that a programme of advertising to support it was also required. He warned that meat and cheese, as well as bacon and eggs, were in very short supply and would remain that way. Calling for a simpler diet, he noted that there was plenty of bread, potatoes, vegetable oils, fats and milk.
By January 1941 the usual overseas food supply had fallen to half what it had been. However, by 1942 ample food supplies were arriving through Lend Lease from the U.S. and a similar Canadian programme. Lend Lease was a gift and there was no charge. Most food was now rationed. Worried about children, Lord Woolton made sure that by 1942 Britain was providing 650,000 children with free meals at schools; about 3,500,000 children received milk at school, in addition to priority supplies at home. The bad news was that his "national loaf" of mushy grey wholemeal bread replaced the ordinary white variety, to the distaste of most housewives. Children were sad to learn that supplies of sweets were reduced to save shipping space on sugar and chocolate.
Woolton kept food prices down; eggs and other items were subsidised. He promoted recipes that worked well with the rationing system, most famously the meatless "Woolton pie" which consisted of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and turnips in oatmeal, with a pastry or potato crust and served with brown gravy. Woolton's business skills made the Ministry of Food's difficult job a success and he earned a strong personal popularity despite the shortages."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Food_(United_Kingdom)
4 September 1939 to 3 April 1940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morrison,_1st_Viscount_Dunrossil
3 April 1940 11 to November 1943
In April 1940 [Woolton] was appointed as Minister of Food by Neville Chamberlain, one of a number of ministerial appointments from outside politics. Woolton retained this position until 1943. He supervised 50,000 employees and over a thousand local offices where people could obtain ration cards. His ministry had a virtual monopoly of all food sold in Britain, whether imported or local. His mission was to guarantee adequate nutrition for everyone. With food supplies cut sharply because of enemy action and the needs of the services, rationing was essential. Woolton and his advisors had one scheme in mind but economists convinced them to instead try point rationing. Everyone would have a certain number of points a month that they could allocate any way they wanted. The experimental approach to food rationing has been considered successful; indeed, food rationing was a major success story in Britain's war.
In late June 1940, with a German invasion threatened, Woolton reassured the public that emergency food stocks were in place that would last "for weeks and weeks" even if the shipping could not get through. He said "iron rations" were stored for use only in great emergency. Other rations were stored in the outskirts of cities liable to German bombing. When the Blitz began in late summer 1940 he was ready with more than 200 feeding stations in London and other cities under attack.
Woolton was faced with the task of overseeing rationing due to wartime shortages. He took the view that it was insufficient to merely impose restrictions but that a programme of advertising to support it was also required. He warned that meat and cheese, as well as bacon and eggs, were in very short supply and would remain that way. Calling for a simpler diet, he noted that there was plenty of bread, potatoes, vegetable oils, fats and milk.
By January 1941 the usual overseas food supply had fallen in half. However, by 1942 ample food supplies were arriving through Lend Lease from the U.S. and a similar Canadian programme. Lend Lease was a gift and there was no charge. Most food was now rationed. Worried about children, he made sure that by 1942 Britain was providing 650,000 children with free meals at schools; about 3,500,000 children received milk at school, in addition to priority supplies at home. The bad news was that his "national loaf" of wholemeal brown bread replaced the ordinary white variety, to the distaste of most housewives. Children learned that sweets supplies were reduced to save shipping space.
Woolton kept food prices down by subsidizing eggs and other items. He promoted recipes that worked well with the rationing system, most famously the "Woolton pie", which consisted of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and turnips in oatmeal, with a pastry or potato crust and served with brown gravy. Woolton's business skills made the Ministry of Food's difficult job a success and he earned a strong personal popularity despite the shortages.
He joined the Privy Council in 1940 and became a Companion of Honour in 1942. In 1943 Woolton entered the War Cabinet as Minister of Reconstruction, taking charge of the difficult task of planning for post-war Britain and in this role he appeared on the cover of Time on the issue of 26 March 1945.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Marquis,_1st_Earl_of_Woolton
Ministry of Food - Rationing
https://plus.google.com/103755316640704343614/posts/5af393TbvMH
The Ministry of Food: Terry Charman explores Food Rationing in World War Two | Culture24
11 November 1943 to 26 July 1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jestyn_Llewellin,_1st_Baron_Llewellin
Farming: Make Fruitful The Land - 1945 Educational Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5oSmJpB6S4
Medieval 3-field rotation - introduced by Saxons
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=1m21s
18th century population explosion
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=2m35s
clover introduced from Flanders
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=3m17s
Norfolk 4-course rotation
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=4m12s
https://youtu.be/hQYpRhkkOKs?t=7m1s
https://plus.google.com/103755316640704343614/posts/hmnY2vHt9uM
Rotation - farming calendar 1940s
https://youtu.be/h5oSmJpB6S4?t=6m43s
The Butcher, The Baker - 1947 Educational Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9yw4Kgl-_g
Village Bakery (1940-1949) - silent, subtitles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4QAaqEsza8
Modern Bakery (1940-1949)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNVhqA_ULy4 .
Food Shortages ..
Ministers of Food (1939–1958)
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. S. Morrison (subsequently Viscount Dunrossil) |  | 4 September 1939 | 3 April 1940 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Woolton |  | 3 April 1940 | 11 November 1943 | Independent | |
| Colonel J. J. Llewellin (subsequently Lord Llewellin) |  | 11 November 1943 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | |
| Sir Ben Smith |  | 3 August 1945 | 26 May 1946 | Labour | |
