The famine in the Levant during World War I left an indelible impression the region. While the collective memory of the survivors changed the way Syrians and Lebanese thought about food and hunger, the institutional memory gave rise to a new way of governing food during wartime There are multiple explanations for the famine, including poor harvests, requisitions by the Ottoman military, and the interruption in trade. But it was the Entente blockade that turned a terrible situation into a tragedy, resulting in at least 500,000 deaths. Neither the British nor the French acknowledged responsibility for the famine, but both powers sought to avoid a recurrence. The vivid memory of the famine and fear of shortages led to grain hoarding and speculation in Syria at the start of World War II, sending the cost of bread and flour soaring. The Vichy-controlled government, isolated and underfunded, faced a series of food riots fomented by local nationalist leaders, putting French rule of Syria in jeopardy. When the Allies took control of Syria in 1941, grain collection and distribution was taken over by the Office du Céréales Panifiables (OCP), created by Edward Spears and backed by British money and personnel under the auspices of the Middle East Supply Centre (MESC). In order to obtain local support, British and Free French troops promised independence prior to their 1941 invasion of Syria, but the bureaucratic apparatus of the MESC seemed to fortify the colonial presence, supported by a large number of troops. Under the Spears Mission, 30,000 additional acres were put under cultivation, local industry was expanded, and a new system of taxation was implemented. Based on an analysis of the archives of the Spears Mission, Mandate supply records, and the local press, this paper will examine the significance of the famine of World War I in determining the Allies' food policy in the Levant during World War II as well as how the reforms instituted by the MESC affected everyday life for Syrians. In conclusion, this research will explore whether increased Western intervention in Syria during World War II informed nationalists' demands for ending Mandate rule without granting a privileged position to France, a stipulation in independence agreements the French had successfully negotiated prior to the war.