Food Provision and Food Retailing in The Hague, 1914–1930

Abstract

Although the Netherlands remained neutral in the First World War, its consequences were severely felt. Import of several foodstuffs, household goods, and fuel became increasingly limited by the actions of the belligerent countries. Corn, potatoes, beans, meat, soap, soda, gas, and coal became scarce and prices were rapidly rising. To be sure, the situation never became as critical as in a city like Berlin, but the food provision of the urban population was seriously endangered during key periods. The national government responded by limiting exports and establishing ceiling prices for basic foodstuffs, a policy which initially proved successful. Yet already in 1915 the government was forced to implement much more drastic measures such as the introduction of an extensive distribution system for most foodstuffs and goods like coal, soap, and clothing. Local authorities had to implement a sometimes messy central policy. In addition, they tried to improve the precarious food provision of their populations by several measures, like establishing soup kitchens and, in some cases, by setting up complete food provision enterprises.

I would like to thank all the participants of the conference ‘Food Production and Food Consumption in Europe c.1914–1950’, organised in 2004 by The Centre for European Conflict and Identity History (CONIH) in Esbjerg (Denmark), for their valuable and stimulating comments on an earlier version of this chapter.