Posted on 04/16/2015 10:39:13 AM PDT by drewh
Did anyone really think Gwyneth Paltrow could feed her family on a $29 budget?
"Last week, chef (and great man) Mario Batali challenged me to raise awareness and money for the NYC Food Bank by trying to live on $29 dollars for the week (what low income families on SNAP are trying to survive on)," the actress wrote in her goop newsletter. "Dubious that I could complete the week, I donated to the Food Bank at the outset, and all of us at the goop office began the challenge."
Paltrow spent $24.40 on "things like avocados and limes," which "are cheap." Noble as her intentions were, the New York Times best-selling cookbook author didn't last long. "As I suspected, we only made it through about four days, when I personally broke and had some chicken and fresh vegetables (and in full transparency, half a bag of black licorice)," Paltrow, 42, confessed. "My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget, even for just a few days—a challenge that 47 million Americans face every day, week, and year." (So that explains why she attended an $80 prix fixe menu event last night at L.A.'s Animal.)
Still, she learned something. "A few takeaways from the week were that vegetarian staples liked dried beans and rice go a long way, and we were able to come up with a few recipes on a super tight budget."
"After trying to complete this challenge (I would give myself a C-), I am even more outraged that there is still not equal pay in the workplace," said Paltrow, who included food photos. "Sorry to go on a tangent, but many hardworking mothers are being asked to do the impossible: Feed their families on a budget which can only support food businesses that provide low-quality food.
The food system in our beautiful country needs to be subjected to a heavy revision—it is a cyclical problem, with repercussions that we all feel. I'm not suggesting everyone eat organic food from some high horse in the sky. I'm saying everyone should be able to afford fresh, real food. And if women were paid an equal wage, families might have more of a choice in the grocery aisles, not to mention in the rest of their lives."
After sharing some White House statistics highlighting the gap in men and women's earnings, the Mortdecai star reminded her newsletter subscribers that NYC Food Bank provides more than 63 million free meals per year. "I know hunger doesn't always touch us all directly—but it does touch us all indirectly. After this week, I am even more grateful that I am able to provide high-quality food for my kids." "Let's all do what we can to make this a basic human right and not a privilege."
I bet movie star grocery stores are expensive.
Hard working mothers, how about hard working fathers too Paltrow? Does that make her a bigot towards men?
She missed her lobsters etc to survive on that money.
Forty-five dollars a week seems more likely for minimal eating.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/how-much-could-i-receive
number in household: 4
monthly allotment: $649
When I was 19 I worked in the Oil Field with my friends. We lived in a CAMPGROUND in the wilderness of Colorado, we ATE on $1 per day, Top Ramen and Chunky Soup. But we always had money for BEER!
Gwynnie lives at Whole Paycheck I guess...do they even have black licorice at Whole Foods??
OK,so she accidentally ordered an $89 shrimp cocktail at a Malibu restaurant.These things can happen.
Outraged, outraged you hear!!!!
The biggest shocker of this whole story was that Paltrow shops at Safeway.
Well even a Hollyweird gal figured out there's no way she's gonna pull this off with her normal delivered order from PeaPod.
I’d have thought the $29 would barely cover the cost of a dozen quail eggs. She’d have nothing left over for caviar and Brie. Poor thing ...
That leaves about 5 bucks for a pallet of Top Ramen, which makes it all quite possible. Collect the seasonings they give away at Taco Bell and you have a feast fit for a king.
Pointing out the obvious, SNAP is the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”. Supplemental. Whatever it pays is not supposed to represent anyone’s, or any family’s entire food budget, presumably, but a supplement to it.
Also when your budget is limited, you don’t spend much money on non-essentials like avocados and limes.
I survived college on these things!
There is quite possibly nothing more obnoxious than a multi millionaire pretending to live like the poor.
I know it never occurs to these people that what they are asking for is a monarchy. They want a king who will set everything right.
They assume they’ll be welcome at the court, of course.
Sigh....once again, it's $29 PER PERSON, PER WEEK. No "low income families" are living on $29 a week.
> After sharing some White House statistics highlighting the gap in men and women’s earnings, the Mortdecai star reminded her newsletter subscribers that NYC Food Bank provides more than 63 million free meals per year. “I know hunger doesn’t always touch us all directly—but it does touch us all indirectly. After this week, I am even more grateful that I am able to provide high-quality food for my kids.” “Let’s all do what we can to make this a basic human right and not a privilege.”
All you Hollywood types have the money. Donate and do this. Lets feed those hungry children!.....Oh you meant use OTHER people’s money as in higher taxation? Well hell, who do you think are the new “hungry” are...yeah its all those people that have been paying higher and higher taxes under this new administration that don’t have anywhere near the money you have in your accounts or were born into. Want to make a difference? Get your types and all thir liberal buddies and entrepreneurs to either chip in more or stop taxing the hell out of the middle class being turned to poor by the man you so adore in the WH thats running the country into the ground. Oh yeah you didn’t know that because you’re one of the bubble people....
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