I’ve always fancied myself as a land girl despite my hopeless patch of London garden. Now help to turn those dreams come true has come in the shape of The Ministry of Food, a new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.
Seventy years after the introduction of food rationing, The Ministry of Food shows how the British public adapted to a world of food shortages by growing their own, eating seasonally and cutting waste.
And if that sounds familiar, there’s plenty more in the exhibition that will make you wonder whether rationing might not solve a few of today’s ills. The health of the young was improved, for example, and camaraderie greater, with more people eating communally to meet the needs of bombed out families, factory workers and school children.
Exhibits include recordings of Marguerite Patten — the Delia Smith of her day, a wartime greenhouse, 1940s grocer’s shop, and a typical kitchen complete with larder, gas cooker, and economy recipes, including the original recipe from the Savoy Hotel for Woolton Pie — a concoction of potatoes, cauliflower, swede, carrots, oats and spring onion that I don’t think sounds at all bad.
There’s also a wonderful selection of the Government’s Food Flashes films with tips on how to make the most of your vegetable garden, or how to transform lawns and window boxes into vegetable plots or containers.
Now all I need is some dungarees and a hoe.
The Ministry of Food is at the Imperial War Museum from February 12–December 31 ,2010, 10am–6pm, adults £4.95, children £2.50, families £13. iwm.org.uk
A blog has also been launched to accompany the exhibition featuring archive film clips, posters and leaflets from the Museum’s Collections, as well as posts from guest contributors who can share gardening tips and resourceful recipes. iwm.org.uk/food
