by Sr. Sheila Campbell, MMM                                       Ireland                           27.05.2026

This year’s tensions in the Middle East have us all worried. As well as the fuel crisis, there is also the rising cost of fertilizer – will this affect our food supply in the year to come?
Luckily, MMM has the answer! Rather MMM had the answer back in 1940 in one of our early MMM Magazines, written during the Second World War. Let’s see how relevant it still is today…
“With present food restrictions and rising cast of so many articles, the housewife needs to manage the household expenditure with great care.
Great for this will be the avoidance of all waste, right balance of different classes of food, and the obtaining of the maximum food value from what is used. We now give some general hints.
Use brown bread rather than white, especially for children.
Avoid using too much meat. Cheaper cuts such as brisket and shin of beef, breast of mutton or sheep’s head are as nourishing as the best joints,
Meat can be made to go further by serving other nourishing and cheaper foods with it, such as lentils, dried peas, haricot beans, barley, etc.
Get the maximum of food value from fresh vegetables by steaming or stewing them with meat rather than by boiling them. If boiling them, keep the water for soup.
Waste no bread. Use scraps for puddings and dumplings.”
Well, what do you think? Could we use this advice, or would you like to add more?