When I was in college and moved into my first little efficiency apartment, on my own, I made my dad two promises. One, I would keep my grades up and not party. Two, I would prove to him that even with paying rent and a food bill, it would be the same $ or less as me living in the dorm.
I kept both promises. I kept my grades to all A's and B's, and I ate on $25 a week. That was the tough part, the shopping for food. I knew how to cook but I didn't cook much. My apartment "kitchen" was basically a closet with a dorm-sized fridge, a few shelves, and a two burner electric stove. I ate a lot of oatmeal and canned soups. Once a week, if I had the $3-5, I'd get pizza and split it with my friend Robert, or go eat at a Mexican place in Athens that had fairly cheap food.
[For a long time, I loved the refried beans at that Mexican place -- until I ate them for lunch once and then had to perform in a matinee of The Mikado. Let's just say I was happy the orchestra was loud and I was wearing a heavy costume...]
I digressed.
My whole point was that a very meager food budget is tough to live on, but not impossible.
I am not a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow. I think she's only moderately talented, and she has had a very privileged and charmed life. She also named her daughter "Apple." WTH? I cannot respect someone who saddles their child with such a ridiculous name. [I know what it's like to grow up with an odd name. Not fun.]
She runs a website called Goop. There's a lot of expensive stuff on there. It's not on my Favorites list, needless to say.
Now, Paltrow is being challenged to live on a food budget of $29 for a week, to bring awareness of the needs for folks to donate to food banks since Congress has cut the food stamp budget. Details are here. The aim of this is good. I applaud her for that.
However, so far, there's just a photo on social media showing her haul. She got beans and rice (good choices), eggs (good protein choice) and a huge bunch of kale and some limes. Here is a complete list: corn tortillas, eggs, an ear of corn, beans, onion, green onions, tomato, lettuce, kale, cilantro, a sweet potato, green peas, a garlic clove, an avocado and seven limes.
So far, I only have questions.
Did she actually buy the food or her assistant? [I'm betting she hasn't set foot in a regular grocery store in...ever?!]
Is she going to force her kids to eat what she has bought? For one person, that's not a bad haul. For three people, now, there's the real challenge.
My brother was a company commander in the Army many years ago, and he quickly learned that often young soldiers with families ran out of money and food before the end of the month. They would come to him for help. He was only in his early twenties but he had watched my mother grocery shop carefully and on a budget the entire time he was growing up. He tried to teach the young soldiers about money management and making good food choices.
He finally ended up just forcing them to learn better ways. The day they got paid, he would often be found at the commissary standing just opposite the checkout lines, watching for his soldiers. If they bought a bunch of sodas, cookies, and other non-nutritious stuff, they got a lecture. Many times he made them go back and buy 5-10 lbs. of rice and beans, so when they ran out of money at the end of the month they could still feed themselves and their families.
He took it upon himself to try to help them because he cared about them, and they had never been taught properly.
My point is this: why don't we teach all kids basic money management and good nutrition? I know these things sometimes get covered in school in a very dry, pedantic way, but we need to do better. Poor people often are fat because they consume too many sodas and starchy foods and not enough fruits and vegetables. Where are they going to learn to cook better? To grow their own food -- especially if they live in an apartment with no outdoor space?
If Gwyneth really wants to bring attention to the problem I want to see her post recipes. I want to see her feeding her kids bean burritos. I want to hear how she responds when they are fussy and want sodas and candy.
My friend Cindy Bodie has raised 1 biological and 38 adopted children, and she is a single mom who is retired from being a school librarian. She has large gardens and she is a vegetarian. She knows how to live on a strict budget and she talks all the time about making good food choices. She talks about what they eat. Her kids are healthy and they eat well. [I know, I've been reading her blog for years.]
There's also Linton Hopkins, a chef teaching kids how wonderful it is to grow and eat their own vegetables. Go Linton!
OK, I will get off my soapbox now. I applaud Gwyneth for bringing attention to the problem, but I am reserving praise until I see how far she carries this through.
UPDATE: Gwyneth admits she only lasted 4 days on the food she bought. However, there was a lot of buzz about her experience so if it causes positive changes, great.
