Article; Food in Italy, Fascist Era

[sailorsam]

https://www.matteogaruti.com/seconda-gu ... reloaded=1

some excerpts translated to Ingles for people like me

Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the diet of Italians had already begun to deteriorate. In the early 1930s the problems started from the base of the nutritional pyramid, that is, from bread. Despite the efforts of the Fascist Regime, which had launched the so-called "Battle of the wheat", agricultural productivity remains poor, especially in the South. Wheat flour is not for everyone and the use of substitutes, such as barley and of lentils, was quite widespread.
The prices of pasta and white bread are high, it is no coincidence that the fascist propaganda discredits their consumption in favor of rice. In 1935, Italy suffered international sanctions due to the colonial war in Ethiopia. Autarchy also enters the kitchen, where foods that have become rare are crossed out and sometimes really unlikely substitutes are conceived.

so I wonder how much rice and lentils were available?
most people dismiss the effect of League of Nations sanctions, but they appear to have had some effect.

Obviously, during the Second World War, the diet varied according to locality, regional customs and life in the city or in the countryside. Meat, however, was present in a few meals during the week, while the consumption of legumes and potatoes was consistent, and secondly also that of vegetables. In the years preceding the Second World War, therefore, nutrition was nutritionally more similar to that of past centuries than to the contemporary one.

bread and legumes; staples in many circumstances.

With the entry into World War II in June 1940, Italians were increasingly struggling with food shortages. The needs of the army become a priority, so the Regime intervened in the distribution and prices of food products, in order to reduce the consumption of civilians to the bare minimum. The ration card is introduced, which will remain in force until 1949. It was a personal card that established rationing, allowing food to be booked and later also clothing.

IIRC rationing also existed in Britain for a few years after the war

In 1942, with the rationing of the Second World War, the nutrition of an adult Italian includes:

200 g of bread per day. Bread rationing began in May 1941. Bakers could add 20% potato flour to the dough, but second-rate bran and corn were also used. The result was a dark and often bland bread, because even the salt was subject to rationing. Bakers near the sea were allowed to use brackish water for the dough.
2 kg of pasta per month.
1.8 kg of rice per month.
800 g of potatoes every two weeks.
80 g of beef and 60 g of cured meats per week.
1 egg every 15 days.
500 g of oil per month, but since it was often not there, the ration was replaced with lard or lard.
500 g of sugar per month.
Wine, which before the Second World War was widely used as part of the diet, although it is not on a card, is difficult to find. Pepper and spices are nowhere to be found, a factor that together with the scarcity of salt makes the production of cured meats and sausages even more complicated.

I suppose fish as available. I wonder how much catch was sold in private outside of state control / awareness.
even the USA had a black market, so I'm sure Italy did also.