What were ration books?
They were books which contained coupons that shopkeepers cut out or signed when people bought food and other items. People still had to pay for the goods with money. Why did they issue ration books? To make sure that everybody got a fair share. The government was worried that as food and other items became scarcer, prices would rise and poorer people might not be able to afford things. There was also a danger that some people might hoard items, leaving none for others. Was rationing fair? Some people considered food rationing to be very unfair. Eggs, butter and meat could be obtained fairly easily without coupons in rural areas. By the summer of 1941 greengrocers in the towns were taking their lorries into the country to buy vegetables direct from growers. When did food rationing stop? Fourteen years of food rationing in Britain ended at midnight on 4 July 1954, when restrictions on the sale and purchase of meat and bacon were lifted. This happened nine years after the end of the war.
