Below the line.....

Oh hey there, 
                    Charlie and I are doing the "living below the line" challenge this week, this involves buying food to the value of £1 a day per person for five days. The figure is £1 because in 2005 the World Bank defined that those living off of $1.25 US dollars a day or less means that you're recognised as living in extreme poverty. We're only able to do 4 days of this week as it is my Mumma's birthday on Tuesday and she'd already booked a dinner out for us to go on, but we'd rather do four days than nothing at all.... To me when our weekly food shop is normally £50, suddenly spending only £8 already seemed like a real challenge but there is more to consider than just the monetary value:


1) It's so important to remember that while I might choose to spend this money on a couple of tins of beans, for thousands of others around the world the decision is not so simple. It is not just a case of buying a bit of food, for too many people it means considering transport, housing and education too. This puts a seemingly impossible strain on that tiny £1 budget and makes it apparent why so many people in this situation are struggling so much.


2) It is not only naive but also foolish and inconsiderate for people undertaking this challenge to make assumptions. I think a common thought is "Oh that seems so simple, of course I can do it" which in turn not only undermines those in genuine suffering but it also trivialises the situation and can make it seem like some sort of game. I am so so conscious that I do not want to behave like that. I dearly hope that by doing this small thing,partnering with people all around the world in just one way enables me to gain compassion, understanding and propels me to DO something more in the future. I so want to take it seriously and imagine how someone with this lifestyle might actually feel.


3) One of my initial thoughts was that I wanted to try and create meals that were as healthy and nutritionally balanced as possible within the allocated budget. I was trying to envisage a mother wanting to do the best for her children with the limitations here. Charlie and I bought our food for the week tonight and I can say that in reality the nutrient levels are low. I'm talking baked beans low......


So in case you're interested here is what £8 bought us in Tesco Express Northchurch (definitely not the cheapest shop around, and the variety is poor, but Chuckles is abit poorly and I thought he deserved a lie-in tomorrow inside of staring at tins of sweetcorn at 9am....)


-2 x 500g bags of white pasta- fusilli if you care to know,whole wheat was an unaffordable luxury.
-2 x tins of baked beans.
-2 x tins of spaghetti hoops
-2 x tins of soup (minestrone for me, cream of chick for Chaz.)
-2 x cheese and onion pasties
-1 x tin of tuscan bean soup (to use as a pasta sauce....)
-1 x jar of Ragu
-1 x loaf of best of both bread-reduced to the same price as the cheapest bread in the shop-result!
-1 x packet of egg fried rice
-1 x Banana!! Half each as a mid-week treat!


I endeavour to do this week demonstrating respect to those genuinely struggling in this situation. To gain awareness of their plight in the hope that I will be challenged into action that extends beyond moaning that I'm hungry, that moves above a basic understanding and that ultimately enables me to use my knowledge to activate change.