A lemon curd sandwich for breakfast. Curry sauce and rice for dinner. Skip the tea, meat or afternoon treat.
No, we haven’t gone all draconian here at Frugal Farmhouse, this is a typical meal plan for someone taking the #Belowtheline challenge. If you’ve been hanging round Twitter at all this week you will have seen a lot of posts about people eating for a £1 a day.
It is all part of a campaign by The Global Poverty Project to raise awareness of poverty and the realities of life for people living on low incomes.
Does #belowtheline help?
I would have liked to take part in the challenge but as I am breastfeeding it is not nutritionally sound. However, if I am honest, my main motive would have been more a personal challenge rather than anything else. I understand people live in poverty, I have met them, written about them and am a champion for their cause. But does this challenge actually help?
Pretending to be poor
Some people, like Philippa Willitts, over on the F Word, suggest that such initiatives don’t do much good. That they don’t give a real insight into people living in these situations and that we should just talk to them instead. I get her point. There is something a bit patronising about putting yourself in someone’s shoes for 5 days, knowing it is just temporary. But sadly the reality is, another personal story of living on the breadline won’t get people talking like this challenge will.
Shouting about poverty
All charities and good causes struggle to get the attention and support that they deserve. And all of them are constantly looking for ways to raise their profile, garner media coverage and increase donations. So, no, a group of mums living on £1 a day for 5 days is not the reality of living in poverty. They will go back to their weekly Ocado order and savour a nice glass of wine at the end of the week to congratulate themselves. However, if one more person makes a donation or understands a little more about the issues, then in my opinion it is a job well done.
Follow some #belowtheline participants here:
Our New Life In the Country
A Girl Called Jack
One Pound Per Day
Living a Slow and Simple Life
Juliet Kilpin
