Rantsoen

Rantsoen is a Dutch term meaning a fixed allowance of goods allocated to a person or household, particularly during periods of shortage. It refers to both the system by which scarce resources are distributed and the quantity allocated to an individual. Rationing schemes are typically state-administered, using records, quotas, and often coupons to control access to items such as food, fuel, and clothing. The verb form rantsoeneren means to ration or allocate by quotas.

In the Netherlands, rationing was implemented during World War II to cope with wartime shortages. A coupon-based system allowed households to obtain limited amounts of staple goods, including bread, butter, sugar, coffee, and oil. Rantsoenen were issued on a monthly or weekly basis, and the system shaped everyday life, from shopping queues to household budgeting. Rationing persisted into the late 1940s and gradually declined as production recovered and imports resumed; many products remained scarce for years.

Today, rantsoen is primarily used as a historical term, but it also appears in discussions of emergency planning and disaster relief to describe fixed allocations of scarce resources. The word appears mainly in Dutch-language contexts and can be encountered in literature and historical accounts about the war and postwar Netherlands. Plural form is rantsoenen.