The relevance of the study lies in how, in a crisis, the state should support the livelihoods of its population. This article examines one of the aspects of everyday life – the life of the rear cities of the USSR in the most difficult conditions of wartime in 1941–1945. The activity of public catering enterprises is studied using the example of the cities of the Middle Volga region. In Soviet times, catering companies became widespread in urban settlements, as thanks to their services, a large number of employees performed their labor functions without wasting time searching and preparing food. The purpose of the study is to show how, in the extreme conditions of the war period, the party and Soviet authorities of the Middle Volga cities adapted the entire catering system to the rapidly changing demands of the time. This work is based on archival sources. Materials from the archives of the Samara, Penza and Ulyanovsk regions and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History have been put into scientific use.Information from published sources and statistical collections is also used. The period of the Great Patriotic War was a severe test for public catering enterprises in the Middle Volga cities. The reduction in the supply of their centralized funds has led to a decrease in the quality of service for citizens. The urban population, which had increased as a result of the evacuation, did not receive enough food. Local authorities tried to remedy the situation by providing catering companies with greater independence in terms of procurement of necessary products. However, many managers of the catering system could not cope with this task. Nevertheless, the necessary minimum food supply for the townspeople was provided. And some of the managers of the catering system, who are able to take the initiative, have achieved good results in the field of servicing the population attached to their enterprises.

The relevance of the study lies in how, in a crisis, the state should support the livelihoods of its population. This article examines one of the aspects of everyday life – the life of the rear cities of the USSR in the most difficult conditions of wartime in 1941–1945. The activity of public catering enterprises is studied using the example of the cities of the Middle Volga region. In Soviet times, catering companies became widespread in urban settlements, as thanks to their services, a large number of employees performed their labor functions without wasting time searching and preparing food. The purpose of the study is to show how, in the extreme conditions of the war period, the party and Soviet authorities of the Middle Volga cities adapted the entire catering system to the rapidly changing demands of the time. This work is based on archival sources. Materials from the archives of the Samara, Penza and Ulyanovsk regions and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History have been put into scientific use.Information from published sources and statistical collections is also used. The period of the Great Patriotic War was a severe test for public catering enterprises in the Middle Volga cities. The reduction in the supply of their centralized funds has led to a decrease in the quality of service for citizens. The urban population, which had increased as a result of the evacuation, did not receive enough food. Local authorities tried to remedy the situation by providing catering companies with greater independence in terms of procurement of necessary products. However, many managers of the catering system could not cope with this task. Nevertheless, the necessary minimum food supply for the townspeople was provided. And some of the managers of the catering system, who are able to take the initiative, have achieved good results in the field of servicing the population attached to their enterprises.