Here at the curious kitchen, I try to keep things light and concentrate on getting out recipes as regularly as possible. But, this week, I’d like to discuss something slightly more serious.
Gwyneth Paltrow has recently been getting a ton of flak for attempting and failing the challenge to live on $29 a week, the average budget of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that was popularized by the hashtag #FoodBankNYCChallenge.
Her attempt wasn’t what made people angry, it was the fact that, to the public eye, Paltrow’s purchase seemed very out of touch. Consisting of kale, parsley, cilantro, one avocado, one onion, one garlic clove, one jalapeno, one yam, one tomato, one ear of corn, a bag of black beans, a bag of brown rice, a package of corn tortillas, a dozen eggs and seven limes – no you’re not reading that wrong – the list of meal options for a week seemed rather small. However, she still managed to produce three meals that she felt should be advertised on her website, goop.com.
The whole “brouhaha,” as Paltrow calls it in her post about the challenge, reeks of an inability to relate to the common people (a phrase which should be ridiculous to even think about using, but seems almost necessary here). But she still manages to bring about a decent message about the current state of food affordability in the United States.
In her self-reflective post, Paltrow grades herself a C- on the challenge – her reasoning for such a grade remains unclear – so she can’t be seen as completely detached from reality.
She also brings up some good points about the gender pay gap and what that means to single mothers who have to squeeze by for themselves and their children with such a meager budget.
Essentially, the public seems to have dismissed the challenge simply because Paltrow is known for having eccentric habits and saying strange things.
But the fact that she tried to do this at all speaks to at least a wish to help those who don’t have the power to broadcast their thoughts and evoke real change.
It also is being overlooked by many that if Paltrow had completed the challenge, the movement would have most likely been damaged indirectly at best. If she had strolled into a grocery store and walked out with enough to feed her family comfortably for the week, people wouldn’t take the attempt at advocacy nearly as well.
Although not all of what she says and does is down-to-earth and applicable to the everyman, this foray into advocacy should not be ignored, and those who would dismiss a cause simply because a single person endorses it should take a step back and evaluate the cause, not the woman, man or group publicizing it.