Rotary International Food for Britain fundraising button

The 'Food for Britain' appeal was a humanitarian and fundraising effort launched primarily in Commonwealth countries—most notably Australia, New Zealand and Canada—during and immediately following World War Two to send essential food parcels to the heavily rationed population of the United Kingdom. There were also contributions from dedicated American relief organisations such as CARE International.

Food rationing actually became stricter after the war than it was during active combat, due to wartime exhaustion, severe winter weather, and the near-total bankruptcy of the national economy. The return of the servicemen and women also added to the population and demand.

In Australia, various localised drives, such as the Lord Mayor's Food for Britain Appeal, sprang up across the country. Throughout the mid-to-late 1940s, citizens regularly donated money, surrendered their personal meat and butter ration coupons, and packed thousands of voluntary food parcels to send overseas.

This button belonged to a sub-drive dedicated to raising money specifically to buy and send food parcels to the families of British Rotary Club members. Each Rotary Club in England was asked by Brisbane Rotary to provide a list of 20 members. Citizens would purchase this tag for 1 shilling and pin it to their clothing, bags, or lapels to publicly show their financial contribution to the patriotic relief.

There are a number of items in the collection relating to this campaign, including some food parcel labels sent from Australia to Great Britain and an asphalted cardboard box which would have contained food sent by CARE International from America.