ABSTRACT
Supplementary nutritional benefits constitute one of the less discussed aspects of welfare provision in the post-war welfare state. Nevertheless, the nutritional programme was substantial in scale and cost, and it was highly regarded by recipients. It is not entirely clear what objective importance should be attached to supplementary nutritional benefits with respect to improvements in health since the beginning of the Second World War, but it is likely that the high claims made about the significance of these supplements to generations of mothers, infants and children will not readily be dismissed.
