Have you ever tried to feed yourself on a pound a day?
I am fortunate that I’ve never been forced to do so, but that’s the reality for more than 1.4 billion people worldwide currently living in extreme poverty.
Closer to home, I’m shocked that more than one in four children in the UK – one of the richest countries in the world – live in poverty, and that the demand for food banks has rocketed through the roof in recent years.
To help raise awareness, I’m taking the Live Below the Line challenge, to live on £1 a day for food for 5 days. And as soon as I mentioned it, my husband said he’d do it too (I have yet to break the news that the budget won’t cover coffee).
So I’ve started this blog to try and hold us to the promise, because I certainly love food, and we won’t be eating much of it on a fiver. I’m so thankful that for us, this will only be for a limited time, rather than the grinding day in, day out reality for so many. I’ve been both humbled and inspired by the examples of women like Jack Monroe and Miss South, who blog about eating healthy, interesting food on minimal budgets. The challenge may be easy to dismiss with accusations of poverty tourism, but it seems better to do something than nothing at all.
The campaign is supposed to run from 29th April to 3rd May but due to camping, an industry awards ceremony and a golden wedding party (such is the rock and roll lifestyle we lead) we’ll be starting on Monday 13th May.
Bring it on…