AIBU to think the UK should have a National Food Service again? (Like we basically had in WW2)

[Staybymw]

During WW2 and for years after, the UK did have a kind of National Food Service.
The government controlled prices, ran bakeries, managed rationing, guaranteed flour/milk supplies, and kept basic staples affordable so people didn’t starve. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked.

So with the cost of living crisis now, rising food prices, food banks everywhere, and benefits going up because families literally can’t afford groceries… why don’t we bring back a modern version?

I’m not talking about anything complicated.
I mean basic, no-frills staples produced not for profit:

• bread
• rice
• pasta
• tinned tomatoes
• flour
• oats
• basic cooking oil
• tinned veg / beans

All stuff we can grow or easily manufacture in the UK.

If the government owned the land, the factories, and the distribution, they could:

• create thousands of jobs ( more people paying tax)
• stabilise food prices
• make sure no one goes hungry
• massively reduce the need for benefits to keep rising
• put pressure on supermarkets to stop hiking prices

Other countries already do versions of this:

France controls wheat prices
Japan buys rice from farmers and sells it back at stable prices
Egypt subsidises bread for millions
India has state-run ration shops
Brazil provides government food baskets
Saudi Arabia subsidises milk, flour, staples through state industry

It’s not a wild idea lots of countries see food as a strategic, essential service.

A National Food Service would mean:

• no shareholders to pay
• no profit margin
• steady UK jobs
• cheaper food
• more secure supply chains
• less reliance on private companies
• more tax revenue from the workers it employs

It could help families massively.
Especially those who are working but still struggling, or whose benefits are swallowed by food prices.

Given everything going on, food inflation, child poverty, constant arguments about increasing benefits, would a simple, not-for-profit national food range actually save money in the long run?

Having watched the progress of HS2 for the past 15 years, I am not thrilled at the prospect of putting the same people in charge of making sure we don't starve.

Then where would be the point of sale? Supermarkets, who would expect a mark-up to cover their costs.

While not a totally fair comparison really, I would argue loads of things re privitisation were cheaper. Water, trains, post phones.

And while I don't agree with the OP re having a State owned staple food brand, I do think there are valid arguments for state owned utilities.

Private utilities often get a state subsidy to operate, but because they are private they need a profit. Supplying that becomes the burden of the customer.

Just one specific example to your question is trains. Rail track, is state owned, the train operators are private ( mostly), the taxpayer pays 12 billion, funding half the industry cost. Yet the shareholders still get their cut. Yet train fare are unaffordable for many.

Rail industry finance (UK) – April 2024 to March 2025 (orr.gov.uk)

I think the water companies are the same.

Edit to add energy. I recall gas and leccy where cheaper back in the day, pre sell off ?

It’s a sweet idea OP, but it would almost certainly end up more expensive that current supermarket food.

The UK has just about the cheapest food in the developed world. Profit margins in the supply chain are razor thin. Many farmers famously struggle to make even minimum wage because prices are so low. Immigrant food pickers work long days for low wages and no work out of season.

But food is just about the cheapest it’s been in human history.

A state run service would have to pay everyone a decent wage, with pension, holiday pay and guaranteed hours. The pension would have to be at public sector levels, i.e. much more generous than the private sector equivalent. There would be no more unpaid overtime by farmers. Trade unions would get a foothold and drive wages up further, and make it difficult to fire underperformers.

These might all be good things for the people involved. But the result will be prices much, much higher than you currently pay for the basic ranges in a supermarket.

Forwards not backwards!

It's housing costs that are too high in the UK, not food. There are lots of other things wrong with food system (UPF, big corporations and supermarkets etc) though.

You would still have the freedom to chose. There would in fact be more choice as something is getting added and not something getting taken away. What made you think it was going to be replacing all food sold everywhere?

I'd take that. What an absolute waste of money

Basic food is already cheap and readily available. In fact, lots of those cheap products are loss leaders, to get you through the doors. The government cant do it any cheaper or better.
The problem we have is that people either don't know how, or don't want to cook it. There's threads on cooking on a budget every so often and it always goes the same way - people are aghast at the suggestion that they coild eat lentils or cabbage (for example) 4 times a week.

1kg isn’t a big bag of potatoes though. That message said a big bag for a £1 which I haven’t seen. Also the 52p rice is not the same as the supermarkets normal own brand. I have tried them everywhere as the supermarket normal own brand is about £1.30 for the same amount so I thought if this rice worked it would be a big saving but it is poor quality. The rice is broken and different lengths so you get some uncooked rice and some mushy rice even if you try the wash before method, the unwashed Delia method, the 1:2 ratio method and the boil it like pasta method.

Yes it's a great idea OP. I'd like to see all essential services nationalised. Unfortunately we are deeply mired in capitalism so there would be huge resistance from those who benefit from it and who prioritise their wealth over others wellbeing.

Absolutely.

We’d be better off bringing home economics back to the school curriculum so people learn how to cook simple food from scratch (and how to make the famous MN chicken last a week)

I agree with this. Some of you have no idea how cheap so much of your food is compared to other countries.

What’s the incentive for supermarkets and shops to give up profitable retail space for it?

This, 100 percent this!

Some people have no idea how to meal plan, budget and cook. Food prices in the UK are amongst the lowest in Europe. Yes, we have astronomical housing costs compared to other countries. However the UK as a whole spends a huge amount on fripperies.

Look at the number of takeaway outlets up and down the country that are not only surviving but thriving and the number of Uber Eats delivery drivers on our roads; the number of coffee shop chains; the number of streaming services that cite the UK as one of their key markets in Europe - surely it can’t just be the top 5% of earners keeping all of these services running?

Everyone l know knows how to cook. But some dislike doing it so get takeaways instead.

I am an olio food waste hero
I get so much bread and bread related products I am took some down to the local leisure centre on Wed and stuck it in a box with a sign saying 'free please take if you cam use'

Not even the food banks will take bread

People don't need cheap food. They need advice and support with making food go further and making cheap, hearty and filling meals for their family. Loads of families i support hardly even know how to bake a potato let alone cook with lentils or basic spices/herbs.

No the cost of land is too high, which is a knock on effect for everything else here.

there is not a war we don’t need government rations. We need to not be spending more than half of our wages on housing and to stop putting downward pressure of salaries via large scale in targeted immigration

ive Got to be honest OP, this is a really strange place to start improving the country!

we have very cheap and good quality food in the uk. I can’t see what the benefit is? As others have said it won’t employ many people and in many cases those products are loss leaders for the supermarket

there are plenty of places where capitalism doesn’t work but this doesn’t seem the obvious one? Wouldn’t you rather renationalise water or energy?!

Some parents would still prefer to feed their poor chubby little kids on junk foods

People do know how to cook. They’re just knackered

So you're saying it's cheap because the current system relies on exploitation of the workers? Exploitation that is 'necessary' to keep prices affordable while still making profits for non producers and non workers at the top.
Remove the need to carry these passengers from the process and money would be saved.
It may be necessary for the government to subsidise it. However, costs would be saved from other services if all our citizens were well fed, adequately housed and could heat their homes.
It would be interesting to see the costs actually modelled.

Same. It’s only on Mn people portray the imagine of vicky pollard sippping monster starring suspiciously at a carrot. IRL people either who don’t cook much either don’t want to or haven’t got time.

We can agree to disagree on the rice, but regardless even taking your prices, £1.30 for a bag of rice is pretty cheap, that’s 13p a meal. Same for potatoes, very cheap for a £1.20 bag. Basic meals can be made cheaply from scratch.