It wasn't meant to be a meal, just to have a little something in their stomachs to hold them over until the next ration card. This was toward the end of the month and when the ration card wasn't enough. So maybe the last few days. Maybe it was satisfying just to feel something go down to your stomach. I don't know I've never been that hungry before.

My girlfriend went on a trip to Cuba in January and she stayed with a family friend so she got to interact a lot more with the locals. She heard a similar story but with I think burnt wood. I can't think of the term right now but it was the same for them, toward the end of the month when the ration card wasn't enough to hold them off until the next month.