The United States government controlled consumption of commodities on the World War II homefront. Citizens, including children, received ration books that allowed them to acquire a limited amount of a commodity.

Companies whose products were rationed competed for customers with clever marketing. For example, General Foods marketed their Swans Down Cake Flour and Calumet Baking Powder through a cookbook filled with recipes adapted to the limited rations. Image by Clarence E. Jones, III