On This Day, 30 March 1918

Evening Despatch

Saturday 30 March 1918

THE FOOD SUPPLY IN BIRMINGHAM

PLENTY OF MEAT FOR FULL RATION

CHEESE AND BACON SCARCE.

Although fish was scarce this week and many Good Friday tables were unusually bare, the meat supplies for Easter are sufficient for every Birmingham consumer to be given the full quota of three-quarters of a pound. English beef is, however, less plentiful than in come recent weeks and the butchers have had to take […] per cent of frozen meat, as compared from 40 to 45 per cent. last week. Mr Frank Webster, who was recently thanked by the Lord Mayor for the assistance he has rendered to the Food Control Committee stated this morning that the co-ordination between wholesalers and retailers was so complete that Birmingham now had the best and most equitable system of meat distribution in the country, and the public now appeared to be entirely satisfied with the position.

ENGLISH BACON FINISHED

The supplies of English bacon have become exhausted. American supplies have improved slightly, but Mr. Howard Marsh says they are still insufficient to guarantee 1/2lb per head of Birmingham’s population. Queues of would-be purchasers of bacon were seen in several parts of the city this morning.

CHEESE SCARCE

Butter is rather more plentiful, but cheese is very scarce, the provision dealers and grocers having only been allotted one-quarter of the amount applied for this month there is no British-made cheese on the market, and therefore the new schedule of maximum producers’ prices published today will not immediately affect the position for consumers. The only available supplies come chiefly from Canada and New Zealand, and are Government controlled.