NOTABLE EVENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26778, 22 May 1948, Page 9

NOTABLE EVENT

ARRIVAL <OF FOOD PARCELS FATS MOST WELCOME “The arrival of New Zealand food parcels in the British household is an event for which the family assembles to watch the unwrapping of a veritable treasure trove,’’ writes Dr Helen Deem, medical adviser to the Plunket Society, in a letter to a friend in Dunedin. “How I wish you New Zealanders could see the faces of British people light up with joy and excitement on receipt of an overseas parcel. “All contributions are thankfully received but fats, tinned meats and cakes are the most acceptable donations.'’ the letter continues. .“ The meagre rations of cooking fat make frying quite impossible, and as grilled kippers and smoked haddock feature monotonously on family and hotel menus, it is a real treat to sit down to a delectable dish of herrings fried in New Zealand dripping. A gift packet of suet is soon transformed into a steam pudding or a pie crust—a treat welcomed by all regardless of the season of the year.” Dr Deem explains that tinned meats can be procured on points, but to obtain a lib tin of sheeps’ tongues, a person has to surrender more than her complete month’s allotment of points, which would prohibit the purchase of biscuits, cereals, dried fruits, golden syrup, tinned milk and other things procurable only on points. “The Ministry of Food is doing a magnificent job and no one would dispute the fact that the mass distribution of the available foodstuffs is a truly wonderful feat,” Dr Deem adds, “ but the imagination and the ingenuity of even the most experienced housewife is sorely taxed in the matter of varying the monotony of the fare she provides for her family. So please let your friends know that by ‘ saying it with fats’ and the other commodities mentioned, they are making the British housewife’s lot a great deal easier and helping her to cope with a situation which on the face of things cannot be eased in the near future.”