Rural Pie Scheme 1942-1953
| Artwork | Ruth Smith |
| Maker(s) | Ruth Smith |
| Location | Wall on left side courtyard of Devenhams Cw9, courtesy of Lea Critchley, 502 London Road CW9 8HS, https://w3w.co/fetch.windmill.thinking |
| Sources | The Times newspaper 1942, Manchester Evening News 7th May 1943 |
The War Time Pie Scheme and the Davenham Women’s Institute
The Rural Pie Scheme was organised by the Ministry of Food to provide pies for labourers in the countryside who did not have access to a works canteen or a British Restaurant.
An article in The Times in April 1942 explained the plan:
Lord Woolton’s New Scheme
The Minister of Food is anxious to secure that farm workers are able to take a meal on the job as munition workers can. This has been possible for some through rural British Restaurants – “where these have been established they are doing well,” Lord Woolton stated yesterday – and through canteens on farms themselves.
“But these methods,” the Minister of Food stated, “really only deal with places where farm workers are not too widely scattered. Now we have a third scheme, which we call the meat pie scheme, and that has the best chance of being quickly developed. We have tried it in practice, and it seems to be pretty hopeful.”
Divisional food officers have been asked to expand this scheme, under which meat pies and snacks are delivered to the workers on farms, as quickly as possible. They will call meetings of local authorities, voluntary helpers, and farmers and farm workers. In addition to local authorities, any responsible voluntary organization, such a W.V.S. or a Women’s Institute or a group of helpers certified by a war agricultural committee will be authorized to operate schemes for the manufacture and distribution of meat pies and snacks in rural areas. The pies and snacks will be made by British Restaurants, or a local authority may authorize the village baker to make them.
In Davenham village the Women’s Institute decided to help with selling the pies. The price of the pies was kept in line with prices in the local shops; 4d for small and 8d for large. The Davenham WI members took delivery of the pies and set up a stall in the village, they were allowed to keep any profit to use towards the village facilities.
The Scheme finally closed in 1953
