Village War Food Societies

Prize pigs for sale, c.1910 [BMB13/2]

Tuesday 31st August 1915: The Board of Agriculture has suggested that societies should be founded in villages to grow extra food during war time. Wherever possible vacant building plots, uncultivated “waste” land, and even common land should be used for co-operative food production or divided into individual plots. While it is expected that there will be plenty of expert local knowledge free leaflets on growing vegetables and fruit, keeping pigs, poultry and rabbits, and on bottling and preserving can be obtained from the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. Goats can be housed and fed cheaply and provide wholesome milk; pigs can easily be reared cooperatively and would make good use of waste vegetable matter. Poultry are useful both for eggs and meat, and many people could easily keep a few birds. Rabbits could be bred and reared both for home consumption and for the market. The same applies to pigeons, which can be bred with the need for very little equipment – wire enclosures and pigeon cotes could be built by any man who is handy with tools and the birds need little attention.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer 24 August 1915