Gwyneth Paltrow, the widely known queen of all things luxuriously healthy and green, will attempt to complete a seven-day challenge that require her to live on a meager US$29 for all her meals within a week, according to The Huffington Post.
Paltrow, who is hailed as the force behind GOOP, was called on by her friend and frequent travel companion, highly renowned chef Mario Batali who also serves as a board member in the New York City Food Bank, to participate in the #FoodBankNYCChallenge.
"For one week, walk in someone else' shoes. Knowledge is power, and by truly understanding what our friends and neighbors are going through, we will be better equipped to find solutions," explained Batali, shedding light on the reason behind issuing the challenge to various people.
In a nutshell, the challenge is for those who intend to participate to "live on a food stamp budget for one week," which means spending only a measly $1.38 for every meal. The project came into light following the cuts implemented on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, since the year 2013. Therefore, those who rely on these supplements will need to undergo more budget cuts to feed their families.
Consequently, the Food Bank revealed that the reductions presumably also resulted in the increase of visitors to the already undermanned and congested soup kitchens and food pantries in the city. "New Yorkers can't afford any cuts to Food Stamps," asserted the group in their website. Hence, the organization decided to bring to the public's attention the plight of those less privileged in society.
"The#FoodBankNYCChallenge raises hunger awareness and deepens your understanding about the struggle to afford food on a food stamp budget," they explained.
To update her fans and followers on her progress with the challenge, Paltrow took to Twitter to share her thoughts. "This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store-what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week," the actress and health guru posted in her social media account. The picture showed the items she managed to purchase with the budget which included eggs, limes, whole grain brown rice, cilantro, and corn. Needless to say, these are a far cry from her usual grocery haul.
In a subsequent post, Paltrow shared her sentiments on the subject as well as nominated Roy Choi, another chef and friend of the actress. "We're walking in their shoes to see how far we get. I nominate @RidingShotgunLA to do #FoodBankNYCChallenge & donate: http://bit.ly/1CxSQZc," she shared.
