Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
It’s hard for anyone to work a weekly $29 weekly food budget, especially not Gwyneth Paltrow…the Chicken made her do it! Gwyneth didn’t fail at the challenge, “I would give myself a C-” but she didn’t do well and only lasted 4 days.
“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). 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. It cost $24.40 (plus a little olive oil and salt)—things like avocados and limes are cheap in Southern California.
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). 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. 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.”
That is a really strict budget that is hard to survive on.
Photo from PR photos