Article

The American Home Front During World War II: Rationing, Recycling, and Victory Gardens

Graphic color poster. A large crowd of uniformed men stream off of passenger train cars. The train is deep green. The sky is deep blue.
“Millions of troops are on the move… Is YOUR trip necessary?” Poster, Office of Defense Transportation, 1943.

Collection of Northwestern University Libraries (ark:/81985/n22f7ms1c).

As the US joined the war, huge amounts of resources were needed to arm, feed, clothe, and transport the military. This meant that civilians needed to do without or find other means. Some goods, like nylons, metal toys, and refrigerators, disappeared from stores entirely. Both their raw materials and factories were needed for wartime production. Some things, like rubber, couldn’t be imported because of the war.[1] Other items were limited at the point of manufacture. To save fabrics, the government banned suit vests and women’s two-piece bathing suits became popular. The US Mint also limited their use of copper and nickel, and Americans found steel cents and silver-based nickels in their pockets.[2]

Rationing

Even during the war, civilians still needed access to products. Rationing was used to limit the number of items also needed for the war effort that they could buy. It also helped control inflation by managing demand.[3] That limit, and who could have access, was determined by the federal government. They printed ration books that contained a set of ration coupons (also called stamps). To buy something, shoppers had “pay” the right number of ration stamps plus the money that the item cost. Stamps were only valid for a certain time before they expired.[4]

Limited by rationing, Americans found ways to make do. Newspapers and cookbooks published recipes that limited or eliminated the use of rationed foods. People carpooled or rode bicycles, and canceled road trips. They sewed and mended their own clothes. And they grew and preserved their own food. Some people – buyers and sellers – tried to work around the ration system. When people heard that the government was going to add something to the ration list, people would line up to buy as much as possible to hoard it. Some sellers also stockpiled goods to sell at inflated prices. Others charged extra to sell rationed goods without the necessary ration stamps. There was also an illicit trade in the ration stamps themselves. If caught, both buyers and sellers could be arrested and fined.[5]

Rationing ended as goods became available. By the end of 1945, the only thing still rationed was sugar. It stayed under ration until June 1947.[6]
Graphic color poster featuring painted vegetables arranged in the shape of a "V" for "Victory." Lettering in black capital letters reads “Food for Victory.”
“Food For Victory.” Poster made by Grade 6 students Edith Tillotson and Ruby Prince during World War II.

Collection of State Archives of North Carolina (WWII 12_P78).

Recycling

Not all materials for the war effort had to be new. As part of the “Salvage for Victory” campaign, Americans were encouraged to collect and recycle needed materials. School children, churches, community groups, and families donated and sold materials to the war effort. Iron fences were removed from around cemetery plots. Children and even Fala, the President’s pooch, donated their toys.[7] By the time the war ended, millions of tons of metal, rags, rubber, paper, rope, and even record albums had been recycled. One consequence is that few of these items from the war survive.[8]

Victory Gardens and Preserving Food

One of the major advances of World War II was a national focus on nutrition – for the military and for the public. This was based on new research showing the importance of a balanced diet. It was important that civilians were at peak health to support the war effort.[9] Fruits and vegetables were an important part of a good diet. Although fresh produce was not rationed, Americans were encouraged (and taught how) to grow Victory Gardens. This left more commercially grown produce for the military and helped offset the lack of farm labor. It also meant less resources needed to transport produce to market.[10]

Half of all American households grew a Victory Garden – in their yards, in window boxes, at their jobs, in school yards, and in community spaces. Incarcerated people of Japanese descent also planted victory gardens.[11] By 1943, Victory Gardeners had planted over 20 million acres of land and by the end of the war, produced about 8 million tons of food. Even Eleanor Roosevelt, Batman, and Superman had Victory Gardens. [12]

Preserving the food was just as important as growing it. Government publications and training centers taught Americans how to can, dry, pickle, freeze, and properly store root vegetables. They advised which products were suitable for preserving and how to save seeds for the following year. Community canning centers opened across the country, providing entire neighborhoods with training and equipment.[13]

Rationing, recycling, and Victory Gardens were only part of the larger US economy during World War II. Americans on the home front also went to the movies, found new places to live (or didn't), and spent millions of dollars on Victory Bonds.
This article was written by Megan E. Springate, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, for the NPS Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education.

[1] Up to 95% of America’s rubber came from places under Japanese control. National Park Service 2016.

[2] Bamford 2020; Dundas 2021; Kennedy 1999: 644; Kennett 1985: 124; Sieber 2013: 56, 97; Vergun 2020. 

[3] Kennedy 1999: 623.

[4] Lee 2021; National World War II Museum n.d.

[5] National World War II Museum n.d.; Przybylek 2020.

[6] Ames History Museum n.d.; National World War II Museum n.d. 

[7] Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum 1942; Girl Scouts of the USA 2021; International Scouting Museum n.d.; Makamson 2022; National Park Service 2019.

[8] Fishman and McKee 2015; Makamson 2022.   

[9] Wassberg Johnson 2019.

[10] Smithsonian Gardens n.d.

[11] Mace 1944. War Relocation centers where Victory Gardens have been documented: Granada/Amache; Heart Mountain; Jerome; Manzanar; Minidoka; Poston; Rohwer, Topaz; and Tule Lake. Camp Harmony/Walerga in Puyallup, Washington; Santa Anita in Arcadia, California; and Tanforan in San Bruno, California are assembly centers that have been documented as having Victory Gardens. Enemy Alien detention centers documented with Victory Gardens include Crystal City, Texas; Fort Missoula, Montana; and Kooskia, Idaho. Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1994, designated a National Historic Landmark on March 18, 2022, and became a National Park Unit as Amache National Historic Site on February 10, 2006. Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1985 and designated a National Historic Landmark on September 20, 2006. Manzanar War Relocation Center in California was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1976, designated a National Historic Landmark on February 4, 1985, and became a National Park Unit as Manzanar National Historic Site on March 3, 1992. Minidoka War Relocation Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1979 and became a National Park Unit as Minidoka National Monument on January 17, 2001 and as Minidoka National Historic Site on May 8, 2008. The Poston Elementary School, Unit 1 at the Poston Relocation Center was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 16, 2012. Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1974. The Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 6, 1992. The Topaz War Relocation Center (also known as the Central Utah Relocation Center) in Utah was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 2, 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark on March 29, 2007. Tule Lake War Relocation Center (later Tule Lake Segregation Center) in California was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 17, 2006; it became a National Park Unit as Tule Lake National Monument on March 12, 2019. Santa Anita Park in California was determined eligible for listing on the National Record of Historic Places on August 3, 2006. Crystal City Alien Enemy Detention Facility (more commonly known as US Family Internment Camp, Crystal City, Texas) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 2014. 

[12] Smithsonian Gardens n.d.; Smithsonian Libraries n.d..

[13] Furman 1941; National Agricultural Library n.d.; United States Department of Agriculture 1944.
 

Ames History Museum (n.d.) “Rationed Goods in the U.S. During World War II.” Ames History Museum. 

Bamford, Tyler (2020) “Steel Cents, Silver Nickels, and Invasion Notes: US Money in World War II.” National World War II Museum, December 4, 2020. 

Dundas, Tracee (2021) “Fashion on the Ration: The Evolution of the Bikini.” National World War II Museum, July 12, 2021. 

Fishman, Leo and Betty G. Fishman (1952) “Bituminous Coal Production During World War II.” Southern Economic Journal 18(3): 391-396. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum (1942) “Fala WWII Campaign.” Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. 

Furman, Bess (1941) “Community Food Preservation Centers.” Bureau of Home Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No. 472. 

Girl Scouts of the USA (2021) “Girl Scouts Provide Much-Needed Aid During World War II.” National World War II Museum, March 10, 2021. 

International Scouting Museum (n.d.) “World War II Sustainability.” International Scouting Museum. 

Kennedy, David M. (1999) Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. Oxford University Press, New York.

Kennett, Lee (1985) For the Duration... : The United States Goes to War, Pearl Harbor-1942. Scribner, New York. 

Lee, Karen (2021) “Coupons and Canned Corn: What a WWII Shopping List Reveals about Rationing.” Fishwrap: Official Blog of Newspapers.com, August 21, 2021. 

Mace, Charles E. (1944) “Rohwer Relocation Center, McGehee, Arkansas. One of the many small victory gardens seen throughout the Rohwer Center.” Photo by Charles E. Mace, War Relocation Authority, June 16, 1944. Collection of the Library of Congress.

Makamson, Collin (2022) “Salvage for Victory: World War II & Now.” National World War II Museum, January 11, 2022. 

National Agricultural Library (n.d.) “How Did We Can? The Evolution of Home Canning Practices: A National Agricultural Library Digital Exhibit: World War II” United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library. 

National Park Service (2019) “War Bonds, Scrap Drives & Housing Shortages: St. Paul’s as World War II Homefront.” National Park Service, April 9, 2019. 
--- (2016) “Sacrificing for the Common Good: Rationing in WWII.” National Park Service, June 3, 2016. 

National World War II Museum (n.d.) “Rationing.” National World War II Museum. 

Przybylek, Leslie (2020) “Bootleg Beef and Smuggled Sirloin: Black Market Meat During World War II.” Heinz History Center, April 22, 2020. 

Sieber, Arlyn G. (2013) Warman’s U.S. Coins & Currency Field Guide, 5th edition. Krause Publications, New York.

Smithsonian Gardens (n.d.) “Victory Garden at the National Museum of American History.” Smithsonian Institution. 

Smithsonian Libraries (n.d.) “Gardening for the Common Good.” Cultivating America’s Gardens, Smithsonian Libraries Exhibitions. 

United States Department of Agriculture (1944) Home Canning of Fruits and Vegetables: Seven Points for Success. United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Home Nutrition and Home Economics, May 1944. Collection of the National Agricultural Library. 

Vergun, David (2020) “During WWII, Industries Transitioned from Peacetime to Wartime Production.” DOD News, March 27, 2020. 

Wassberg Johnson, Sarah (2019) “World War Wednesdays: The Basic Seven.” Food History Blog, September 18, 2019. 

Table of Contents


1. Introduction

2. The American Home Front Before World War II

3. The American Home Front and the Buildup to World War II

3B The Selective Service Act and the Arsenal of Democracy

4. The American Home Front During World War II

4A A Date That Will Live in Infamy

4A(i) Maria Ylagan Orosa

4B Enemies on the Home Front

4C Incarceration and Martial Law

4D Rationing, Recycling, and Victory Gardens

4D(i) Restrictions and Rationing on the World War II Home Front

4D(ii) Food Rationing on the World War II Home Front

4D(ii)(a) Nutrition on the Home Front in World War II
4D(ii)(b) Coffee Rationing on the World War II Home Front
4D(ii)(c) Meat Rationing on the World War II Home Front
4D(ii)(d) Sugar: The First and Last Food Rationed on the World War II Home Front

4D(iii) Rationing of Non-Food Items on the World War II Home Front

4D(iv) Home Front Illicit Trade and Black Markets in World War II
4D(v) Material Drives on the World War II Home Front

4D(v)(a) Uncle Sam Needs to Borrow Your… Dog?

4D(vi) Victory Gardens on the World War II Home Front

4D(vi)(a) Canning and Food Preservation on the World War II Home Front

4E The Economy

4E(i) Currency on the World War II Home Front

4E(ii) The Servel Company in World War II & the History of Refrigeration

5. The American Home Front After World War II

5A The End of the War and Its Legacies

5A(i) Post World War II Food

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Last updated: November 16, 2023