Practical Help

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 7, 16 December 1947, Page 5

Practical Help

Food For Britain Should Be Sacrifice Rather Than Purchase The universal desire in New Zealand to give more food to the people of Britain is finding expression in two ways: sending of food parcels has greatly increased and large sums of money, have been collected. But these efforts, while being admirable in their conception, have caused considerable complications. The National Council recently discussed the whole situation. Two main points emerged from the discussion. First, the aim should be for bulk parcels rather than individual parcels. This saved labour, postage and freight space. But the Council did not wish to discourage the sending of individual parcels to friends and relations in Britain. The importance of the personal link that they provide was fully realised and appreciated. Disruption on Market

Secondly, food sent to Britain should be a sacrifice of food rather than an extra purchase on the market.

The gifts of money showed the deep feeling that was prevalent in the Dominion. ' But this money, which had reached large sums in some districts, caused considerable disruption on the local market. For instance, milk powder is vital for babies and should not be allowed to fall below a certain point. Certain other foods were in very short supply and large scale purchases deprived other people of their share in these lines. Gifts of Money

“Although the generosity of people who have given money is fully appreciated,” said Mr F... P. Walsh, Chairman of the National Council, “it must be recognised that gifts of money do not result in a greater total contribution of food. On the other hand, a contribution is made when people give up food for parcels and actually go without to that extent.

“Some districts have already raised thousands of pounds. They find they are unable to spend the money owing to the limited supply of suitable goods which are also needed locally. Personal Sacrifice Needed

“There is no doubt,” continued Mr Walsh, “that the public desire to assist the British people can best be expressed by an actual personal sacrifice of food. The Council is therefore asking District Committees to provide an effective method for collecting food for bulk parcels, and to organise campaigns to bring about this result.” “The tremendous enthusiasm among New Zealanders for the cause is an inspiration,” said Mr Walsh.

“The Council is confident that the people of New Zealand will realise that if we do not sacrifice the food* ourselves, but merely buy it, we are taking food from an exportable surplus which would go to Britain in any case. To increase our sending we have to sacrifice something which would not otherwise go to Britain.”