FOOD PROBLEM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 59, 28 July 1947, Page 7

FOOD PROBLEM

SCOUTS IN ENGLAND Now that the New Zealand contingent of Scouts to attend the jamboree in Paris is domiciled in England, the subject of food looms in a different perspective from what it did in New Zealand. The Scouts are now having a first-hand experience of real rationing and some comments on the subject are contained in a letter from Dr. G. B. Orbell, of Invercargill, who is medical officer with the contingent. The letter states: —

“I have just expended one of my precious sweet points coupons on a 3ad bar of chocolate—we are able to get two a week, or rather eight in a month —singly or altogether as one wishes. Having started on the subject of food, I might as well tell you more about it., “Firstly, and most certainly if it were not for the fact that I could go into Chingford or the city and have a reasonable meal now and then and at least three ‘snacks’ (sandwiches, cakes, buns, pies) during each day, I would starve or go mad. Never let me sit down again to a tea or just bread and butter and perhaps jam and very little of all three! For the most part that is all anyone in London can have for tea and it is mostly all we can have and have had since we landed.

“Our cooks are very good, even though they are only senior Scouts. Breakfast—Porridge (a little with very little sugar), bread and scrape and tea and sometimes, not often, a small portion of any of yesterday’s left-overs, such as porridge, potatoes, cabbage, all hashed up together. That was earlier, before we started to get hungry—now there are no left-overs! Dinner—l- mostly have that in London—otherwise usually cold tinned pressed beef, one lettuce leaf (lettuces Is 4d each) and a small portion of potatoes (they are almost unprocurable in London).

One Sunday we had a very nicely cooked roll of roast beef but the size that in New Zealand would do for two adults and four small children for a weekend joint had to feed 21 hungry people. We didn’t get much. ‘Once we had a stew and three times fish, once a steamed pudding from ready mixed materials (not so bad) and last night we were to have the same, but it was not cooked, so they steamed it on and off all day today, for 25 people between nine of us (the rest were on a tour of Windsor).

“Then, as I said, I bought the chocolate bar. Tea is usually, as I said, bread and scrape and very often no jam, as a pound pot has to last 25 of us for 24 hours. You can guess how far that goes.”