The local ration boards were made up of area businesspeople and politicians. Board members came up with a ration level for each person or family in their program. How much a family was allowed depended on where they lived, who they worked for, and the number of people in their household. Each family member was issued a ration book that contained numbered stamp coupons. They had to turn in the coupons when they bought a rationed item. The stamps did not guarantee that food would always be available on store shelves, however. Red meat was especially hard to get, and was a popular black market item. Remember, those who sold things on the black market operated illegally outside the government's ration system. Black marketers, known as "Mr. Black" or "Mr. B," sold their items for whatever price they could get, so prices could be quite high. Nylon stockings, for instance, sold for 20 times their pre-war price. The government fined store owners for participating in the black market if they were caught by one of the 3,100 OPA investigators.
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