FEEDING THE GREEKS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 73, Issue 6283, 20 September 1946, Page 7

FEEDING THE GREEKS

DIFFICULTIES OF CORSO WORKERS The effort to improve the nutritional standard of Greek food was described as a ‘trying business’ by Miss Betty Gentles, a nutritionist with a Corso unit in Greece. In a letter to Corso Headquarters, Wellington, she said Corso workers were endeavouring to concoct something palatable' for the Greeks from .recipes using Unrra imported foods. The people had, however, fixed dietary habits and any attempt to introduce untraditional foods was useless- They lived on wholemeal bread, eating large helpings of it at' each meal. To eke out the meagre rations, Unrra was importing such foodstuffs as powdered mjilk, tinned meat and vegetables, soup powder, egg powder, marmalade or jam. Large areas of land remained to be cleared of land mines but some wheat had been planted and the harvest season was awaited. The last season’s stocks of wheat had been long exhausted but a very small quantity had been imported. Distribution of supplies was a major problem for Corso workers, Miss Gentles added. Special rations were allocated to hospitals and other institutions, but these were paid for by the inmates and not distributed free. Public institutions received a government grant for this purpose. Unrra had divided the country into regions, the headquarters of each in the biggest towns being responsible for administration, distribution of supplies, health and welfare of that area. The area in which Miss Gentles Worked covered 800 villages and it was impossible, she said, to visit all of them. Though Unrra was handing over the responsibility of the child feeding programme to the Greek Government. Advisory work and supervision was still done by the Corso workers. For the maintenance of these relief teams in Greece and for sending skilled relief workers to China, Corso is appealing for funds. Donations should be addressed to “Corso Wellington” or forwarded to the nearest Corso committee.