Eating

The Canadian National Railways issued a series of menus during the Second World War featuring artful, color photographs of different Canadian landscapes. From Lion's Gate Bridge in British Columbia to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, these menus highlighted the different regions of Canada, and the vastness of the country. Between options for sandwiches and salads, passengers would have seen the "V" for victory printed above a message that encouraged Canadians to buy war savings certificates and stamps. 

"The health of a nation is one of its armaments" - and in the absence of a balanced diet because of wartime shortages, vitamin supplements were a way to keep the Allied war effort healthy.

The menu was impressive, but the note at the bottom indicated that they might have to resort to tinned rations at the last minute.

With the war over, soldiers of the 5th Battalion enjoyed Christmas 1918 in Germany, where they were serving with the occupation forces.

This collection of recipes was released by the Navy League Chapter of the I.O.E.D. to raise money towards war work. Find out what women on the homefront cooked for their families.

The Canadian Medical Association released this booklet of nutritional information, cooking instructions, and shopping tips to teach housewives the proper kind and amount of food to buy, to keep the entire family strong and healthy during wartime.

Wartime restrictions meant making do with what was available - and this booklet provided many ways to breathe new life into old products by using Tintex tints and dyes.

Toronto physician Norman Harris joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1916, and in 1918 was with a Canadian hospital in Seaford, in southern England. This card permitted him to purchase rationed food from a local shop.

Everything was militarized during the Second World War, including the household economy. Women became "housoldiers" whose job was to prepare "appetizing and nourishing meals that protect and preserve the health of their families."

Through menu suggestions, nutrition tips, and budget advice, this booklet aimed to help a soldier's wife make the best use of her husband's assigned pay and dependents' allowance.