"I am going to begin with food because most of my family’s activities, as I remember them, focused on and around acquiring food. That’s the only way to be when you live under socialism because food is not something you just go out and buy. Under socialism, food is something you “organize.” Imagine that suddenly, due to some deuced thaumaturgy, all the food in all the stores and restaurants had vanished, leaving only sardines, mustard, and vinegar on the shelves. This is what happened to our stores during the early 1980s. The food was rationed, and as in all just and fair societies, everyone received an equal ration. The rations were distributed in exchange for monthly government coupons, which everyone received at their workplace, along with their paychecks. Each person received the same exact coupons for four pounds of meat, two pound of sugar, two pounds of flour, and one gallon of vodka per month."
http://cosmopolitanreview.com/how-i-survived-socialism/
http://cosmopolitanreview.com/how-i-survived-socialism/