Friday, April 17, 2015

Gwyneth Paltrow lasted four days

At least she gave it a fair shot. Gwyneth Paltrow made news when she said she had accepted a challenge from buddy Mario Batali to live on food stamps for a week. She lasted four days, it turns out.

The Oscar-winning actress was spotted dining on a gourmet barbecue menu on April 14, leading many to believe that she either finished the challenge or failed it. It was the latter.

"I personally broke and had some chicken and fresh vegetables (and in full transparency, half a bag of black licorice)," she said on her GOOP site. "My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget, even for just a few days—a challenge that 47 million Americans face every day, week, and year."

The purpose of the challenge, of course, was to raise awareness to real life situation that families struggle with. To be fair, Gwyneth's involvement in the challenge did just that. In fact, Time magazine published an essay as to why her involvement was so crucial.

The actress says she would give herself a "C-" grade in the challenge that was supposed to make her live for a week off of a $29 food budget.

"The food system in our beautiful country needs to be subjected to a heavy revision," she wrote. "It is a cyclical problem, with repercussions that we all feel."

After failing the mission, Gwyneth donated to the New York Food Bank and encouraged others to do so.
"I'm not suggesting everyone eat organic food from some high horse in the sky. I'm saying everyone should be able to afford fresh, real food," she said. "And if women were paid an equal wage, families might have more of a choice in the grocery aisles, not to mention in the rest of their lives."

You may give yourself a "C-," Gwyn, but we'll give you an "A" for your charitable offering.

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