to think it's impossible to feed a family of four for a week for £10

[horseyhorsey17]

On one of the forums where journalists look for case studies recently there was a call from one of the right-wing tabloids for 'savvy' mums who are able to feed a family of four for £10 a week. This got a few people's backs up (including mine) as I see this as normalising poverty - and the only way anyone can feed a family of four for a week is by using food banks. This isn't 'savvy', it's desperate - I have friends who run a food bank and the bank is on its knees and might actually have to close due to the massive pressure of increased demand, so it's immoral to normalise their use.

I also Googled a few of those 'I feed my family for a tenner/£20 a week' type articles and they're all highly disingenous, the portions are tiny (would at a stretch feed two adults and two babies but not two adults and two hungry teens), were really only one meal a day, poor nutrition and didn't include snacks or drinks. TBH I spend more than a tenner a week on food for my pets - as they don't just get the cheapest food out there as I care about their health - and that isn't weird or profligate. It boggles my mind that people think actual humans can be fed healthily for less than that.

Am I wrong? Can it be done without resorting to food banks/begging for food on local forums (something I am also seeing a lot now)? Is it OK to describe this as 'savvy' rather than a sign of the poverty that's now endemic in the fifth richest economy in the world?

Plus the threshold to qualify past year 3 if in England is really low!

@Kwasi then I would take the soup in a container with some bread

I think, in the year 2023, its absolutely shameful that we have so many foodbanks in operation and that many of those in work and employment need a benefit top up!

You need to grow your own / have an allotment

Food banks come in different guises though.
We have an official one but also a FreeShop that anyone can go to. Both take all the left over stuff from the supermarket and I can tell you that they only take what they’re is at 6pm. There’s loads if other wasted stuff on of that that gets binned.

Its as much about not throwing stuff out as it is about feeding the masses.

Thatsmorethanhalf
I have an allotment. While it provides us with plenty of delicious organic fruit and veg, I'm not sure it's the cheapest way to get vitamins into a family, what with £35 pa subs, about £30 a year worth of seed, horse manure at £1 a bag nowadays (Although I do gather a lot of seaweed for free) etc etc.

I mean, if you were to look at the equivalent cost of, for example, organic rhubarb and artichokes I'm definitely saving money, but I reckon expending a fraction of the effort buying wonky veg boxes from Lidl, watching out for people offering free apples and courgettes in season and buying stuff like onions and frozen peas would be wiser if you were really on your uppers.

@horseyhorsey17 I saw that and thought it was ill-judged
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It really annoyed me, especially all the 'leave the journalists alone they're just doing their job' comments. A journalist's job isn't to prop up a failing government by normalising poverty. Grrrr.

By the time you've paid tax and NI one hour on minimum wage wouldn't double the budget unless you are earning so little you don't have to pay it.

Off topic but what lentils do you buy? I am coeliac - only recently diagnosed - I can’t find dry lentils that don’t say may contain gluten.

Totally agree with other posters that it’s just romanticising the idea of low income and poverty and reinforcing the right wing “bootstraps” nonsense.

I accidentally clicked YABU. Clearly YANBU. Whatever next? Heat your family for tuppence?

Even Oliver asked for more!

I meant to quote you when I wrote my message above.

So, in summary, we "savvy mums" are supposed to eat like we are in a Dickens novel pre-1900s while studying/working hard to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" and get the children through school/college/uni so they don't also become "feckless" like their parents all while the menfolk do what exactly?

Haven't RTFT as I've found it at four pages long but I worked out refugee rations at Tesco. I calculated for part units so not £10 for a single week. It came to just under £13 for four times this.

1.92kg of white rice, 400g of plain flour, 170g of dried lentils, 330ml of vegetable oil, 85g of dried chickpeas, a 400g can of red kidney beans and a tin of sardines.

So I'm calling £10 impossible.

Gruel made with water if you have the temerity to be poor...you might do that for £10 😏

You can change your vote if you want - just click on the other one.

Wouldn’t most people just work another job/ take on some extra hours, share childcare with a friend to enable them to work, sell something if they were down to their last tenner for food? Obviously there will be some people who are on the bones of their arse but there is usually something the majority of people could do?
No one is expecting anyone to eat Dickinsian type food. What about personal responsibility? You only have to read the ‘what would you do with 20k ‘ etc threads to realise that a lot of people are completely financially illiterate and would blow the lot on a holiday ( Disney anyone!) and a car. 20k isn’t that much money nowadays and would help people ride out the rough times.

Could the op possibly post a link to the articles which led to the creation of this post?

Yorkshires require eggs. Not in the budget.

Some brilliant posters on here though who have given me ideas for if when I need to do this.

Meant to add, allotments near me are a hundred quid a year.

And just working some extra hours isnt always possible.
Childcare was my first thought, then is there any overtime available and if on benefits it's pointless, because what you gain in wage, you lose in benefits and then tax and NI could wipe out that hour so you dont even see the money.

Wouldn’t most people just work another job/ take on some extra hours, share childcare with a friend to enable them to work, sell something if they were down to their last tenner for food?

If you are on UC you keep 30p in the pound for any extra hours after tax, NI, and UC reduction. Not taking into account any costs of working more. So you'd need a few hours work for another tenner.

These articles seem to be saying " on minimum wage or benefits, don't worry just eat lentils or beans all week!" You are poor so it doesn't matter kind of thing. This country is wealthy yet doesn't care about the less well off at all

I don’t think the country is wealthy anymore tbh. Poland is on way to being wealthier. A few people are incredibly wealthy but most people are doing what they can to survive by living within their means. If I was down to my last tenner to feed my children I wouldn’t sit and complain. I’d do something about it. Then I’d look at my situation and try to work out what led me there.

If I was on UC and had a tenner left I’d be looking for some cash in hand work. I’d share childcare with a friend so we could both do some extra work. I wouldn’t care about being ‘caught’. Anyone who would care about a mother working cash in hand to feed their children is despicable. I wouldn’t pay for a tv license either. Even if I did watch tv.
If I was this poor I wouldn’t follow the rules!