A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other

commodities In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a co ...

that are in short supply during

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

time or in other emergency situations when

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

is in force. Ration stamps were widely used during World War II by both sides after hostilities caused interruption to the normal supply of goods. They were also used after the end of the war while the economies of the belligerents gradually returned to normal. Ration stamps were also used to help maintain the amount of food one could hold at a time. This was so that one person would not have more food than another.

India

Rationing has been present in India since World War II. A ration card allows households to purchase highly subsidised food grain, sugar and kerosene from their local Public distribution system (PDS) shop. There are two types of ration cards: * Priority ration cards (replaced the erstwhile

above poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

and

below poverty line Below Poverty Line is a benchmark used by the government of India to indicate economic disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from s ...

ration cards after the enactment of the National Food Security Act in 2013) * Antyodaya (AAY) ration cards, issued to the "poorest of the poor"

The United States

Rationing was used in the United States during World War II. Government funds provided to poverty stricken individuals by the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

are often referred to colloquially as "food stamps". The parallels between these "food stamps" and ration stamps as used in war time rationing is limited, however, since food can be purchased in the United States on the regular market without the use of stamps.

The United Kingdom

Rationing was widespread in the United Kingdom during World War II and continued long after the end of the war. It has been credited with greatly increasing public health. Fuel rationing did not end until 1950.

Poland

Ration cards were used in

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

in two periods: April 1952—January 1953 and August 1976—July 1989. If one were to buy more food than specified on the stamp, they had to pay 2.5 times the price.

References

Home front during World War II Military logistics Disaster preparedness Philatelic terminology Cinderella stamps Rationing {{agri-stub

India

The United States

The United Kingdom

Poland

See also

References