The distribution of ration books, and depending on the category in which a person was classified, determined how much food was allowed. By 1943, typical rations for one adult for one week included:
- 2 pints of milk
- 4 oz meat (chicken and fish were not rationed, but availability could be scare)
- 2 oz butter
- 1 fresh egg per week or 1 packet of dried eggs (equivalent to 12 fresh eggs) every 8 weeks
- 2 oz butter
- 4 oz of jam (usually one jar per month)
- 2 oz of cooking fat (lard or suet)
- 4 oz cheese
- 4 oz or about three “rashers” of bacon
- 2 oz of leaf tea
- 8 oz sugar
Fruits and vegetable weren’t rationed, but a person was usually limited to about two lbs per week. What one could get from the grocer also depended on what was available. Citrus fruits and bananas were scare as the enemy was sinking almost any ship; a lot of food ended up at the bottom of the ocean!