Food is a munition of war: don't waste it
A black flag lettered 'FOOD is a munition of war' flies over the line 'Don't waste it', with the Ministry of Food badge at the staff. Calling food a 'munition' and giving it a flag lends the standing of the fighting forces to household thrift: the borrowed war symbol is the tell.
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ministry of Food (printed for H.M. Stationery Office by J. Weiner Ltd; IWM Art.IWM PST 20687)
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Chamberlain Government
- Leader
- Neville Chamberlain
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War II
- Techniques
- Transfer
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Imperial War Museums (scan via Wikimedia Commons), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright expired; PD-UKGov per Wikimedia Commons)
Unknown artist; Ministry of Food (sponsor); J. Weiner Ltd, London (printer); Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Imperial War Museums, Art.IWM PST 20687; scan via Wikimedia Commons.
Text on the object
FOOD IS A MUNITION OF WAR DON'T WASTE IT [imprint, lower margin, too small to read: printed for H.M. Stationery Office; issued by the Ministry of Food] [illegible]
Read from the committed image.
