Mobilization for War

Rationing• Starting in 1941, the government

rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, coffee, meat and canned goods

• US government urged citizens to plant "Victory Gardens"

• Why?• Labor and transportation shortages

made it hard to harvest and move fruits and vegetables to market

• Produce was needed to supply allied soldiers abroad

• Also, if urbanites and suburbanites could produce their own fruit and vegetables, the supply of food would increase, thereby lowering the price the War Department paid for these goods

– “saving pennies for bombers and tanks”

"Plant more in '44!"

• Families planted gardens in backyards, empty lots and even city rooftops. Neighbors pooled their resources, planted different kinds of foods and formed cooperatives

Learning to Garden

• Like today, most Americans did not know how to garden, so elementary how-to materials were provided to the public

• These pamplets taught the basics of gardening. – Topics included: soil health, how to plant,

when to plant, how to tend plants, pest identification, suggestions on what to plant

Types of Produce Commonly Cultivated

• BeansBeetsCarrotsPeasRadishesLettuceSpinachChardOnionsCucumbersParsleyKohlrabiSummer Squash

• CornParsnipsLeeksTurnipsCabbageBrussels SproutsBroccoliPeppersCauliflowerTomatoesEggplantEndiveRutabagas

Canned Foods

• Families were encouraged to can their own vegetables to save commercial canned goods for the troops

• In 1943, families bought 315,000 pressure cookers (used in the process of canning), compared to 66,000 in 1942.

• The result of victory gardening? • Nearly 20 million Americans answered the call, supplying

approx. 1/3 of the country’s fresh vegetables by 1943– Fruit and vegetables harvested in these home and community

plots was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables

• In short, the program was a success

Post-WWII

• After WWII the “victory gardening” policy was dropped, and many Americans did not plant a garden in the spring of 1946

• Since the agriculture industry had not yet come back up to full production, there were food shortages that summer

Recycling

• Govt. encouraged Americans to recycle scrap metal, paper, water and other materials

• Pots and pans, razor blades, tin cans, old shovels, lipstick tubes…etc were collected

• Like with the “victory gardens”, marketing slogans were used to boost participation by appealing to American patriotism

• “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

The end