It’s likely in our future, due to the Iran War, we will see prices on our shelves rise. For those of us on a limited income, stretching our pennies further and being resilient during challenging times has to be our way of life.
I’d like to share with you my basic weekly food expenses based on an adults “Weekly Standard Ration” during 1942. Living on rations helps me keep my weekly food bill to way under £20 per week and I honestly don’t feel deprived. I still manage nutritious meals and a nice dessert at the weekends too. For some people eating this way would be a nightmare (and boring) as it is honestly very basic but it’s getting me through some economically challenging times right now while I write my book!
Download the PDF to print it off here >>> https://the1940sexperiment.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ration-Book-Club.pdf
Hope you find it interesting and hopefully for some people, helpful.
Please share if you can, living better on less is something I am passionate about!
Much love, C xx
PS: My prices are based on shopping in the UK at mostly Aldi and using their own shop brand where I can.
Prices are going to rise as they did in WW2, though The Ministry of Food controlled many prices and profiteers were prosecuted and fined heavily.
British Farmers will have to pay a lot more for fuel and fertilisers. There was a very dry summer and a winter of floods, increased wages and taxes, and fewer seasonal workers, challenging times for British Agriculture.
Imported food will cost more.
A bit of careful spending now will be a buffer for price rises and shortages to come. We can avoid unnecessary car journeys and panic buying. We have toilet rolls!
I am keeping the pantry well stocked with basic ingredients, tinned beans, dried beans and peas, seeds and nuts, and baking ingredients. I shall be collecting a sack of white bread flour soon, and we stocked up on strong wholemeal on offer at 99p for 1.5kg from Aldi. I shall buy some extra rice and basic dried pasta, they keep well. I bought some extra tinned corned beef, a back up for the meat ration. I have bought some extra coffee beans. Aldi has tinned sardines at 45p. Sainsbury’s have their red label loose leaf tea back in stock after several months, at £1.75 for 250g.
With costs going up producers may adulterate items even more with additives. We are warned to check the list of ingredients regularly. One producer has added the waste citrus pulp to their cream cheese! I shall try to buy just basic ingredients, pork steaks or mince instead of sausages.
It would be a good time to think about planting some fruit bushes and growing a few vegetables in the garden.
This is very helpful Carolyn. Especially the vegetarian parts for me 🙂
Would you be able to add a meal plan to go with the food, for a vegan please?
Our biggest problem is heating and hot water – we live in rural Devon and like most of the people in our village (and even our nearby market town) we rely on heating oil for both. The price of 500l of heating oil has more than doubled – we paid £306.25 at the end of January and the quote I received today was £723.24 for 500l to be delivered at the end of March! We have turned off the heating and put on more jumpers, and my husband has been chopping wood for the log burner.
Fuel prices will impact food prices inevitably, especially when you think that so much of our food is imported, either by lorry or by air. Not just that, but there is the increased cost of fuel for farmers and also the fertilisers that they use.
WW2 should have taught us about food security, but we still import 48% of our food (and that has been rising). I am more than grateful for the lessons learned from my mother and grandmothers, and for the great resource that you have provided here, Carolyn! We are, I fear, going to need it over the coming months!
During the WW2 in my country even potatoes and bread were rationed. There was hunger, even famine. Well – I wasn’t there, and both of my parents have born in the 50’s, so I know only what my grandparents have told. But even in the late 50’s there was shortages of food and very poor people in our village. During and right after the war they couldn’t use whole or halved potatoes as seedlings, only the eye part of the potato peel…
I’m saving and printing your work, Carolyn – they give me so much ideas and information! Thank you!
Here in the US, there has been a thing with the USDA and farms, which is clearly about taking over and, down the line, controlling the food supply.
It wouldn’t be out of line to think about plans for rationing. It would be ridiculous if our government did not have plans. Sadly, if so, it will take many by surprise.
So many think it cannot happen again
Although prices are much higher where I live I am sure my weekly grocery bill will be much lower following the WW2 ration diet. I’ve planned out 3 weeks of recipes and the meals are very similar to what we ate in the 60’s. There wasn’t much fancy food and dinner plates were certainly smaller!