Do: Research the foods and their quantities that were available during rationing and use this to create a weekly meal menu for a family of 4. Is this different to the weekly meals that a family of 4 might eat today? Think about the recommended daily calorie intake for people of different ages.
Do: Use Google Maps to look at Blyth. Note down any land that you think could be turned into allotments if rationing was introduced again.
Do: Either in person or by using a map, measure the area in square metres, or square kilometres, the land you could turn into an allotment.
Do: Choose some crops that were commonly produced during WW2. Using your calculation of the area of land for your allotment, how many of each crop could you produce? Think about the size of each crop.
Do: Using information from the Office of National Statistics, work out how many people would rely on food from the land you have chosen to turn into an allotment. Think about how big the land is, people’s proximity to the land, and other areas nearby that could be turned into allotments that they could access.
Do: Using your calculations of the number of crops you could produce and the amount of people the allotment would serve, how well could you feed the people and for how long? Think about daily calorie intakes, the nutritional values of different foods, the amount of labour you would need, and the time it would take the crops to grow.
Do: Create a ration book.
Do: Have a go at making some of the wartime recipes from the Recipes Past and Present website.
Do: Look at the Imperial War Museum’s collection of Second World War posters. Have a go at making a rationing poster.