I’m getting a weekly government food box delivered to my door (I was deemed vulnerable due to health issues and living alone). The government should be applauded for getting this underway in such a short time, delivering over 300,000 boxes weekly, in conjunction with distribution companies such as Brakes and Bidfood.
The box contains basic essential foods for those self-isolating. According to the government it contains enough food for one person for a week and is compiled with the help of nutritionists. Everything is designed to be stored at ambient temperatures and the fresh foods, carrots, potatoes, apples, are long lasting.
The choices are quite random: a friend in a neighbouring borough gets completely different food. Nor are dietary requirements taken into account: I get cans of meat (which I give away) and my friend can’t eat most of her box as she is coeliac (a severe gluten allergy).
The last time the government started handing out food in the UK was during the second World War. How does it compare to rationing? In terms of choice, the 2020 foods do seem like something out of the 1950s.
1945 weekly rationing:
540g meat
230g bacon or ham
1 egg (double for vegetarians)
57g cheese (double for vegetarians)
250g sugar
57g loose tea
1.7 litres of milk
57g butter (so approximately a quarter of a pack)
113g margarine
57g lard (for cooking)
1 bar of soap or laundry soap
1 jar of jam or 2 jars of marmalade a month
340g sweets a month
1 tin of milk powder every two months
Fruit, vegetables and fish were not rationed but were difficult to obtain. Many shopkeepers would only sell one apple per week per person.
Today’s box would feed one person for seven days, at least two meals a day including breakfast, so no one would starve. But you would need some spices, oil, butter, cheese, salt, to make your dishes a little more flavoursome.
2020 Covid box:
Box of Ready Brek. I get this every week which is too much. I’ve tried to make other things such as flapjacks but I can’t say it was a success.
5 Carrots
2 kilos potatoes
1 large onion
5 Satsumas
6 small apples
500g packet of macaroni or spaghetti
2 x 500g packets of rice (basmati or long grain)
Pack of digestive biscuits ( good for a cheesecake base)
Can of meatballs or Fray Bentos meat pie
2 litres of long life milk
1 tin of tomatoes
Jar of ‘Bolognese’ sauce, without meat. (It has so much sugar in it that I added salt, garlic, olive oil and a couple of bay leaves to make it palatable.)
3 tins of soup (mushroom, vegetable or tomato)
Can of kidney beans or peas (make a bean salad or rice and ‘peas’)
Tin of baked beans in tomato sauce
Bar of soap (foamy)
Lynx body wash (I cannot use a bottle of this every week)
2 rolls of toilet paper
Loaf of pre-sliced white ‘Mother’s Pride’ style bread – while this is perfect for dainty and refreshing cucumber sandwiches, today many of us would prefer something along the lines of the ‘National Loaf’, hearty and wholemeal, available during World War 2 (and at the time, much complained about).
Can of tuna in brine. This can be used for tuna salad, sandwiches or added last minute to a tomato pasta sauce.
Box of long-life orange juice (I’ve been making gin and government orange co*cktails with this)
Can of mixed fruit salad in juice
14 x PG Tips tea bags
50g sachet of instant coffee
The fresh food and the milk are incredibly useful, although dairy, protein and some basics such as cheese, oil, and butter is missing. (What are you supposed to put on your toast?) The government’s idea of a treat is a packet of plain digestives. Even in the war they got a 2 ounce bag of sweets in their rations! There is no sugar or eggs so baking would be difficult.
Mushroom Soup Macaroni Cheese
This was surprisingly good, although I did add some cheese I found lurking in the back of my freezer. Quick too! This recipe makes enough for a family meal but feel free to half it which will do for 2 people.
Course Main Course
Cuisine British
Keyword Baked pasta, Canned food, Cherry recipe, Macaroni Cheese with tinned mushroom soup, Pasta, Tinned food
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 500 g macaroni
- butter for greasing the tin
- 2 410ml tins of mushroom soup
- 150 g cheddar or comté cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp ground pepper (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Boil the macaroni in salty water in a large saucepan for 2 minutes less than it says on the packet. Drain.
Grease the baking tin with butter and tip in the cooked macaroni
Stir in the tins of cream of mushroom soup
Grate the cheese on top and bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Add pepper and serve hot.
Government tuna pasta
The 'bolognese' sauce jar was very sweet (WTF is that about?) but with some work it can become a halfway decent sauce. Plus I added a tin of tuna, drained.
As government pasta, while not being too bad, is not of the best quality, really take care not to overcook it, as it will become fudgy, not al dente.
Course Main Course
Cuisine British, Italian
Keyword Baked pasta, Government box scheme, What to make from jars and tins
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 50 ml olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jar 'Bolognese' sauce
- 1 tin tuna in brine, well drained
- 500 g spaghetti or other pasta
- 2 tbsp sea salt. (1 for the pasta, 1 for the sauce)
Instructions
For the sauce:
Take a deep frying pan on a medium heat and add 40ml of the olive oil
When the oil is quite hot, add the chopped onion and fry on a low heat until soft
Add the bay leaves
Add the garlic
Add the jar of sauce
Add the salt
Add 10ml of olive oil to the drained tuna which you add to the tomato sauce last minute
For the pasta:
Using a large pan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta 2 minutes less than it says on the packet.
Drain and toss in butter or olive oil. If not using, then stir it into the sauce very quickly before it sticks together.
Gin and Government Orange for Press Conferences
Unfortunately the gin doesn't come in the box, but this is a 'co*cktail' we used to drink all the time in the 80s although nobody seems to now. The orange juice isn't great quality so is perfect mixed with alcohol.
It took me a couple of weeks to order a bottle of gin from Amazon as I couldn't get any supermarket delivery slots.
To be sipped while watching the daily Number 10 afternoon press conference on the Covid situation.
Course co*cktail, Drinks
Keyword Gin, Government Covid box, Orange Juice
Ingredients
- Ice
- Gin/Vodka/fizzy white wine
- 1 litre Government Orange Juice
Instructions
Take a tall cold glass, fill halfway with ice
Put in a measure of gin or alcohol of your choice
Top up with plenty of government orange juice
Cucumber sandwiches
I'd forgotten how delicious these are, especially during the recent heatwave. White bread is sometimes just the thing for a tea time sandwich. If you can't get hold of a cucumber, use the government issued tin of tuna, drained and mixed with mayonnaise.
Crusts on or off, I'll leave that to your discretion…
Course Afternoon Tea, Sandwich
Cuisine English
Keyword Cucumber recipes, English afternoon tea, English sandwiches, Hot weather food
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2 slices white ready sliced bread
- salted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced rounds, skin on or off, you decide
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Butter both slices of bread. A sandwich bar trick is to use a rubber spatula for easy spreading.
Place the thin rounds of cucumber on the bread.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cut into four triangles and serve with a cup of tea or a glass of Pimms
The government is finally acknowledging that food poverty exists in the UK, at least during the Corona Virus lockdown, and announced on the 8th of May that they were giving 16 million pounds to food charities. But access to fresh foods, fruit, vegetables, cheese, butter and eggs could be improved along with meat alternatives such as nuts. The poor and the vulnerable can’t exist on cans alone.
Personally I haven’t been able to access any supermarket priority slots, which was supposed to be a feature of this scheme. Fortunately, as a chef, I have a good larder, but my quality of my diet has definitely suffered during lockdown.
