03+Rationing+in+the+US+during+World+War+2

__Rationing in the US during World War 2__

In Lilly's Crossing, Lilly's neighbor, Mrs. Colgan has a victory garden. Victory gardens were grown by people during World War 2 when food was scarce due to food rationing. Rationing started in the spring of 1942, about 5 months after the United States entered the war. The government distributed rationing coupons which were exchanged for necessities, such as food, clothes and shoes. Ration books contained stamps which stated how much of a certain item a person could purchase. The government did this to ensure that food and other necessities were available to everyone and not only the wealthy. The government issued meal planning guides to help people prepare rationed food. Rationing was also used for clothing and shoes. In addition, gas was rationed based on a person's occupation. For example, a local school teacher would get less gas than a rancher. By the time the war ended, Americans had received over 100 million of each ration book and had planted 20 million victory gardens.