Stories Behind the Objects | World War II Ration Books

Length: 5 minutes. Take a close-up look at a Museum of the Rockies artifact in 5 minutes or less! Brought to you by Lisa Verwys, Collections Manager and Registrar for Cultural History, this series explores the stories behind objects from the museum’s history collections.

During World War II, the United States suffered shortages of materials and consumer goods. In May 1942, five months after the U.S. entered WWII, prices were frozen on almost all consumer goods and a ration system was enacted in order to most fairly distribute foods and materials that were in short supply. Take a look at a WWII ration book and explore how stamps from these books could be used to purchase various food items.