to think well done to Gwyneth for doing the food bank challenge

[nettlewine]

mobile.twitter.com/GwynethPaltrow/status/586168041576116224

Not sure why she's getting so much hate for trying to live on a budget. If anything it raises awareness how difficult it is to live from food banks.

She should have bought a loaf of bread and a crate of baked beans. Maybe some multipacks of crisps to keep her going

Listen to the lyrics of 'Common People' by Pulp.

She wanted to give being poor a go, she did, didn't like it so she quit. She quit because she could, which is highly patronising. It doesn't highlight anything other than the fact she is a tool.

My friend used to work for her (before she had kids ) and the only things I heard from her was that G.P. is such a lovely lovely woman.
My friend met few very well known people but she said G.P. is really down to earth, simple yet beautiful person. She was very giving,kind and yes,she liked things to be done the way she likes but I think most of us are like that.
I think she tried and she quit-but that IMO doesn't make her bad person.She is lucky that she doesn't need to count every penny but she does lots of charity and she gives A LOT .

Yeah, because if anybody in the world isn't sitting on what should be an African farmers fair share of wealth it isn't her is it? I read somewhere on her website she was advocating smoothies or something that cost £70 a pop to make. All the stuff on her Goop website is obscenely expensive. I'd have more respect for her if she lived a more modest lifestyle the rest of the time so she could redistribute more of her wealth rather than making a grand and ultimately empty gesture towards poverty.

I always find it hypocritical, these multi-millionaires complaining about poverty. Like Bono who won't pay tax but expects to be allowed to dictate where public spending goes.

There attitude seems to be that poverty should be solved by taking money off people who are in the middle or poor, but that the rich shouldn't have to contribute and certainly not in a way which accurately reflects how much more wealth they have than ordinary people. People who are that rich are part of the problem and no amount of eating rice with nothing on for dinner will change that.

I think something like this will achieve a whole lot more.

thepigidea.org/the-problem.html

okay so she failed so it kind of proves how hard it is?

I really liked that blog Fayrazzled linked to about poverty tourism, and I agree that it is all a bit Common People to try and live like poor people do when your escape is just a debit card away so the exercise is to some extent meaningless. Having said that Gwyneth's blog was quite thoughtful so I'm not hating on her (for this at least!)

Is this the Gwyneth who uncoupled with Chris?

If so, I am one of those people who is unexplainably irritated with her.

I agree siblingreve I think it's because the media so utterly hammer anybody, (especially those with a big fan base), who dares to engage with the important matters of our time. Such as, ever growing economic inequality, global injustice, foreign policy, destruction of the environment, how the country's being run in the interests of big business and not the people etc.. The media seem to want to focus on their mistakes and misdeeds of the past. Look at the roasting Russell Brand has had.

She'd be getting ten times the hate if she'd managed the challenge, and then written a blog about how easy it was.

Poor woman can't win because she's an irritating bum hole

someone like GP would not know how to buy cheap food because she dosent eat crap food in her normal life what she should have done was get someone who normally lives on SNAP to buy the food for her it would have made the challenge more realistic

I can't believe people are applauding for for giving up. If she'd really wanted to highlight the issue she should have thrown her usual diet out the windows and eaten what someone who lives to this kind of budget actually consumes. Cheap carbs.

Good point Saucy

I can't believe people are applauding for for giving up. If she'd really wanted to highlight the issue she should have thrown her usual diet out the windows and eaten what someone who lives to this kind of budget actually consumes. Cheap carbs

How would that have highlighted the difficulty of poverty better than saying "I tried but you absolutely can't eat healthily on this budget"?

It would have shown that she was willing to put her macrobiotic lifestyle aside for a week to properly experience what it's like to eat on $29 a week.

The only message I get from her is 'I'm too precious to actually put myself through this'.

I don't mind her...but I wouldn't be eating any of the meals! Well maybe with a side of chips and a cake pudding. Where's the junk food

It would have shown that she was willing to put her macrobiotic lifestyle aside for a week to properly experience what it's like to eat on $29 a week.

The only message I get from her is 'I'm too precious to actually put myself through this'.

So your actual problem is that you don't like her / her lifestyle, not that she didn't "highlight the issue" enough?

I'm no fan of hers but I don't see how continuing with the challenge would have helped anyone!

It is true that she could have done it properly - go to mega cheap supermarket, loaded up on multipacks, processed food and carbs, carbs, carbs. Cheap washing powder, value shampoo and toothpaste.

But I agree her commitment to her lifestyle meant she was too precious to do this.

I think that's a valid criticism.

Apart from the fact that the whole premis was just a load of patronising nonsense.

People find her irritating because she comes across like Lady bountiful. She's never been poor ,she has no idea of the issues that poor people live with and she shouldn't really be giving advice. I find Jamie Oliver irritating for the same reason, he doesn't understand the real issues underlying a crap diet. I know both of them mean well but it still rubs people up the wrong way sometimes.
As far as the food stamp challenge goes, it is very difficult. Food seems to be really expensive in America compared to here . I would have been amazed if she had been able to complete it. I know there's a chef (Karl Wilder)whose did it and blogged about it and he found it very difficult.
I suspect Gwyneth thought she would give it a go and didn't really research it properly beforehand. So her intentions may have been good but it was a bit of a waste of time really.

I'm not entirely sure why I feel so against GP but so she does seem to be very smug and pleased with herself all the time.

She didn't just fail the challenge she failed spectacularly. She didn't even try to eek out the money to buy which would last the week. And she ate out!!

She has come out of this very badly in my opinion, she seems more out of touch with reality than usual.

I also find it laughable that someone that smug, who preaches the way she does about a healthy organic natural smokes.

No my problem is with her using this issue to promote her lifestyle blog and to further her Gwyneth Paltrow guru brand.

I don't actually mind GP as an actor, it's when she starts giving her Planet 1% advice that she does my head in.

Exactly what SaucyJack said. Can you imagine this thread if she done it and said how easy it is to live on food stamps and still have a healthy diet.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It's redundant campaign anyway - the real difficulties come when something you rely on breaks - the washing machine and you have 3 kids, the car that you need to get to work because you do shifts. Then you get into debt to repair thus things. Then the repayments start. And you have even less.

Anyone can live on a small amount of food fur just a week.