FOOD FOR BRITAIN

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20907, 12 September 1939, Page 12

FOOD FOR BRITAIN

GROUP PLAN PROTECTION PROVISION FIRMS ORGANISED The scheme for the maintenance of Britain’s food supplies during war provides for the immediate grouping of wholesale firms supplying provisions and groceries, according to instructions issued by the Food (Defence Plans) Department of the Board of Trade recently. Firms whose premises lie within 16 specified vulnerable areas are to form themselves into groups of between five and eight. Secretaries are to be appointed to each group. The firms are those on which the public relies for important foods, including flour, bacon, sugar, tea, butter and margarine. It is proposed to safeguard against the possibility that the main oflice of a wholesale firm, or its warehouse or transfort facilities, might be damaged or destroyed. Premises are to be earmarked outside the evacuation areas for use as emergency wholesale distributors’ depots. If one or more firms should be put out of action, remaining members of the group would temporarily take over the business and continue to supply the retailers. ■Customers and retailers would be returned as soon as the firm was able to resume trading. Liabilities and debts arising during its incapacity would be for the account of the group. The scheme is suitable for the whole United Kingdom, but will apply first to the following centres of population: London (Metropolitan Police Area) ; Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester; Bristol, Cardiff and Barry; Liverpool, Bottle, Birkenhead, Wallasey, and Crosby; Manchester, Salford and Stretford; Birmingham and Smethwick; Leeds; Bradford; Sheffield; Hull, Newcastle and Gateshead; Portsmouth and Gosport; Southampton; Glasgow; Edinburgh and Leith; Dundee.