PORCH PONDERINGS

Rationing

Dec 4. Waiting for the Barbarians Day!
Ok, tell us what you're up to and how you are preparing.

Am I a prepper? Or as I have found on the internet - when SHTF. Well, no, not really. I don’t have a year’s worth of food. At my age, as the joke goes, it’s a dicey proposition to buy green bananas. We do have at least two or three months of toilet paper on hand. Why? Because some yo-yos have decided it is a hot commodity in these uncertain times, So we buy t.p. when we can.

Hubby always has a back-up to a back-up. He’s always been this way. Me? Not so much. Never was that way. If he opens a new jar of peanut butter, there had better be three waiting on the shelf. In my previous life I would always wait until there was one more spread in the bottom to buy a new jar. So I am learning his ways.

One group I thought of when I read the prompt were the Mormons. They believe in emergency preparedness. A three month supply of food is their goal. I remember when I lived in Ohio and visited a neighbor’s home. I think they were Mormons. The thing I remember most was the fact that in the living room were shelves from floor to ceiling. On the shelves were boxes and cans of food. So much food. I hadn’t seen so much food outside of a grocery store.

So I think you should have a plan in place for any emergency. You should have some food stored in case the food supply is compromised. Canning, freezing and drying are great ways to save food.

During WWII there were victory gardens. Food was rationed, as was gas, clothes, sugar, shoes, and tires.

I did a search on the internet: “While some food items were scarce, others did not require rationing, and Americans adjusted accordingly. "Red Stamp" rationing covered all meats, butter, fat, and oils, and with some exceptions, cheese. Each person was allowed a certain amount of points weekly with expiration dates to consider. "Blue Stamp" rationing covered canned, bottled, frozen fruits and vegetables, plus juices and dry beans, and such processed foods as soups, baby food and ketchup. Ration stamps became a kind of currency with each family being issued a "War Ration Book." Each stamp authorized a purchase of rationed goods in the quantity and time designated, and the book guaranteed each family its fair share of goods made scarce, thanks to the war.”

At one point I had some ration books I found at a thrift store. Interesting to look at. Some still had the stamps attached.

Would we be willing to subject ourselves to rationing in this day and age? I’m sure there were those who complained, who rebelled. I am sure there was a black market where you could get more ration stamps.

But since we are so willing to wear masks now, and who thought we would be doing that when this whole virus fiasco started, we would probably go along with a rationing program. If it would involve food. And who doesn’t like to eat!