Consumer Choice

I think I must have misunderstood something somewhere along the way. This week, lots of bloggers have been doing the Live Below The Line Challenge – managing on a £1 a day food budget for 5 days.

The website says Live Below the Line is challenging individuals and communities to see how much change you can make out of £1. By living off just £1 per day for food for 5 days, you will be bringing to life the direct experiences of the 1.4 billion people currently living in extreme poverty and helping to make real change.

I have absolutely no problem with that, and I am absolutely thrilled that so many people are being sponsored by friends and raising thousands of pounds to alleviate poverty. But what is bothering me is the way that this challenge is turning into an episode of this…

People are sharing their recipes and menus for various meals which cost below £1 – using all the tips which Mrs Moneypenny and friends have been sharing. Things like ‘buy value brands’ ‘shop at Markets’ ‘shop in the evening, look out for yellow-sticker-reductions’ etc. That, in itself, is brilliant – I was scrimping before Mrs M’s sidekick Harry Wallop was born – honest!

But surely, if you want to ‘bring to life the experiences of people living in extreme poverty’  then there should be some more rules, not just ‘spend less than £1 a day on food’?

What about the fact that in the 3rd world, people have far less choice about their diet. It is always rice or manioc porridge, or some basic carb. [and maybe a little dirty water to drink] Day after day after day…

Having something different at every meal is a sign of affluence.

This is the UK and almost everybody has access to potable water from the tap – but there are still many living in extreme poverty in our nation. So I looked at the suggested menus and thought how they might use them [although living in EP they may not have access to the internet] to achieve a low cost, varied diet.

A recipe requiring ingredients from Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's to hit the budget target is all very well if you live close to these four shops, but…

It is a 3 mile round trip to my nearest Sainsbury ‘Local’ and 10 miles to the ‘Superstore’. [The other ‘big three’ supermarkets are even further] A Mum with a buggy could probably walk to the former – but the latter cannot easily be reached safely by pedestrians. And the little ‘Local’ stores carry a very limited range of the “Value” varieties. And a young Mum who has to put children to bed is unlikely to be in the store at 8pm when they are doing the ‘late night’ reductions. And an OAP may not want to go out at night to shop, even if they can get to a big shop with their free bus pass.

But what bothers me most is that politicians [like Ian D-S] will use these budget recipes to justify their welfare policies. “I could live on these benefits – and so could you if only you managed your money properly” they will say. Back in the 80s, in the days of the Iron lady, some charities did not want Bernadette Lawrence to publish her book, fearing that the Government would say just that.

Nevertheless I applaud all those who are doing the £1 challenge – especially people like Sue, who has gone to just one shop and planned a week of fairly repetitive meals.

A harder challenge might be “Spend just £1 a day on food, but only from shops you can walk to, during daylight hours”.

I must continue to ask myself these questions –

Have I

• given thanks for the food I have on my table today?
• given thought to those who will go to bed hungry tonight?