The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1946-05-23
FOOD SHORTAGES
MORE ACUTE HERE
Than DURING WAR
Grocers Shelves Bare of Bread; !;
Meat Markets Close AS
Scarcities Grow.
Shortages Spread to Staples
That Were Plentiful Thru
out the War.

Food shortages-more general than
at any time during the war-fnd
meat, butter, cooking fats, bread and
other items hard to obtain in Bluff
ton stores.
Included among the newest short
ages are many items of diet which
were in abundance thruout the war
years, and the result is that many To-
cal families are living out of cup
boards that are more bare than in
the most rigorous days of wartime
rationing.
Government buying of foodstuffs
for shipment to overseas famine
areas is cited as the basic reason for
the growing list of shortages on the
shelves of grocers.
Bread Scarce For First Time
For the first time in the towns his
tory bread is scarce. The pinch of
bread shortages, felt slightly last
week, has developed into full-blown
scarcity this week.
Reductions in wheat allotted to
millers, and represented in less -four
to commercial bakeries is reflected in
less bread in groceries. In general
it is estimated that Bluffton's bread
supply is about one-half of normal.
Conditions reminiscent of wartime
meat shortages developed last week.
Bluffton meat markets had to close
last Thursday, and again early Sat-
urday afternoon because there was
nothing left to sell. At noon Sat
urday no home-slaughtered meats
were available, and within the next
two hours there was nothing left to
buy.
Order Limits Slaughtering
Meat has been fairly plentiful To-
cally, but the shortage developed as
a result of government-imposed
slaughtering quotas. The order linn
its beef and veal slaughtering to the
amount killed in the corresponding
month in 1914. Pork slaughtering,
on the other hand, is reduced 20 per
cent under the 1914 mark.
Buttons two markets first had to
close their doors last Thursday af-
ternoon. By noon on Friday MOTH
ing was available but cold luncheon
meats, and both markets were closed
for the day late Saturday afternoon.
Plenty of livestock is available here
for slaughtering, it was pointed out,
but the new government quota sys-
tenn does not permit killing in the
quantities that have provided nor
NAL supply locally.
Headache for Grocers
As the scarcity of bread becomes
more pronounced, Bluffton grocers
have a new headache in deciding how
to make an equitable distribution.
Women are meeting the bread
trucks as they make deliveries to
grocers, and virtually storming the
stores to get bread. To relieve this
situation, bread trucks are changing
delivery schedules to other hours, so
their arrival cannot be anticipated.
Baskets of bread that were form
erly carried in the front way, now
are being taken into the stores thru
the back door, to attract as little
notice as possible. This gives the
grocer chance to get his meager
bread stock organized before distri-
button is started.
Grocers Start Rationing
Most groceries have adopted indi-
vidual systems of rationing in order
to spread their bread supply to the
best advantage. One grocer Friday
night had upwards of 100 names of
patrons each wanting loaf of bread
laid back for them, and the Satur-
day delivery was large enough for
little more than half that number.
By and large groceries are attempt
ing to supply their regular patrons,
which makes it increasingly difficult
for new residents who have not yet
established regular buying connect
ions.
As corollary to the bread scar
city, local markets have been swept
bare of flour by hysterical house
wives buying up the product with
view of returning to home baking.