Day 5: £5, 5 days,5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners: DONE

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”  Ghandi

I am writing this after completing living on £1 a day for my food and drink for 5 days. Here are my top 5 regrets and things I have learnt. 

Regrets:
1. I didn't factor in milk to my diet to have with my tea
2. I didn't weigh myself before the challenge to see if I had lost weight by the end
3. I googled pictures of food to put in my blog which made me very hungry
4. I didn't take more pictures of what I ate (though this was mainly because it wasn't aesthetically pleasing)
5. I did the challenge on my own and not with a group

Things I have learnt:
1. You can survive on £1 a day but you cannot thrive
2. Spaghetti hoops on toast are a great lunch and had been a forgotten gem in my life
3. The food I eat and when I eat is integral for giving me energy for my daily life.
4. I am extremely privileged to have had a roof over my head, a daily shower, electricity and many more luxuries whilst living on £1 a day for food and drink.
5.  The choice of food we have is incredible in this country is something I will no longer take for granted.

As mentioned in my first blog, I did not intend to raise any money through doing this challenge but as the week has gone on and a good number of people have followed my progress I had an idea that I could ask people for £1 sponsorship as a maximum amount and see how many people will support me. I have learnt how much £1 can get you in this country for food and £1 can make a massive difference globally as well. So if you have enjoyed journeying with me then please feel free to donate, however justgiving have a £2 minimum limit so maybe buddy up with someone or be extra generous. http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Forsyth2

Below are some key links you may have missed this week and I would really encourage as many of you as possible to consider doing the challenge yourself. I have learnt a lot about hunger and the importance of food for my own life and have been once again reminded how fortunate I am compared with millions around the world.

Live below the Line
Christian Aid
Enough Food for Everyone IF
Christian Aid Collective

You've been a great audience. Keep it real.

Day 4: When I got a bit grumpy

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”  Helder Camara

Today was the day I realised the effect that living on £1 a day was having on me because 1. I was a bit grumpy 2. My blog post yesterday was littered with spelling errors and 3. I found it difficult to concentrate on my work in the afternoon whereas normally I am at my most productive in the afternoons.

This week it happened to be the case that my work has involved a lot of sitting at my desk rather than being out and about at meetings or doing talks around the North East. So the fact that I have felt quite lethargic even though I am exerting no real physical energy has been a bit of an eye opener for me. My bike ride to work has been less enjoyable (especially the fact it is uphill on the way home) and all I want to do when I get home is sit on the sofa and do nothing whereas usually I am keen to be busy and see people or go for a run.

I struck me that the men and women I met in Zimbabwe are living on a similar yet worse diet and are also out in the searing heat for hours doing physical jobs involving hard labour. Either this or they are walking great distances to collect water which may not necessarily even be clean and safe to drink. They have the worst of both situations whereas I am a bit tired when sitting down for a long period of time - perspective acknowledged! 

I mentioned how I found it difficult to concentrate on work and this was ironic as the work I was doing was trying to prepare a talk on my experiences in Zimbabwe, with a specific focus on hunger; if there was a time I should be in the zone for this talk then it should have been today! After giving myself a little pep talk I did get round to writing down a few ideas and found myself approaching my experiences in a different way from before which was interesting.
 

The food highlight for today was having some custard for pudding as well as once again having spaghetti hoops on toast for lunch. I have done my best to work through 1kg of rice this week but won't quite make it which is a real shame but unsurprisingly I am on track to finish all the jam and toffees. And for all of you interested, black tea is becoming more attractive and I am getting quite attached to my porridge bowl accompanying my watching of BBC Breakfast in my morning routine. 

I'm really glad I have undertaken this challenge as it has made me think a lot about food, hunger and also the whole concept of what and why I eat. I can't say I'm not looking forward to Saturday morning where I will probably be having some sort of greasy breakfast but I do know that the feelings, thoughts and emotions I have felt this week will impact me in a big way.

1 more day to go...

Day 3: Eating well, spending less

“I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.”  Oscar Wilde

As I reach the half way of my challenge I find myself a little more tired than usual, not as keen to socialise and reaching the upper levels of how much rice I can eat I can eat in one day.

This week I have intentionally tried not to meet up with too many friends as the usual custom would be to meet with them over a meal or consume a beverage together. In our culture we often meet socially with food and drink and therefore certain coffee shops, pubs and restaurants and the food and drink function primarily as a meeting point rather than a place to satisfy hunger and thirst.

This week I have found that every time I sit down to eat one of my meals I am actually hungry, when I have a glass of water it is because I am thirsty and when I have an emergency toffee or an uninviting cup of black tea it is to give me energy. My whole reason for eating has shifted from routine to necessity. I often don't need the copious number of biscuits/cake I eat on a daily basis or numerous cups of coffee, I just eat and drink as it is there and is part and parcel of my daily routine. People in extreme poverty eat to survive, survival is often all the actually have to show for their lives.

I have been reading 'The life you can save' by Peter Singer recently and one thing that has struck me is his challenge to be more aware of how we spend our own money and in particular on things that we don't need (i.e. on bottled water when we could fill up a bottle from our tap or on buying lunch out regularly rather than having a packed lunch). In this country we spend a lot of money on food and I have become more conscious than ever about how we live in a culture of plenty and that actually stripping things back a little and being either better organised, not being afraid to change a well accustomed routine or simply using up left over food in the fridge rather than chucking it out and getting a take-away can make a big difference.

Being a student for the three years previous and now and intern on basic subsistence I have not ever really bought lavish food anyway but I have really learnt that if there is a point where I actually have some income then the amount I spend on food doesn't need to necessarily change too much. There is no need to assimilate to what society tells you (more money = more expensive food and products). Stick it to the man and live in contentment rather than constant want, greed and desire. I'm not saying buy the cheapest thing each time as there are ethical concerns around food, it is more a challenge to consider and evaluate what you are buying and why.

On a lighter note, I had my rice pudding today with jam; so quite a rice overload. It was great though but my other meals were the same as before and therefore there is nothing really interesting to say about them. My porridge tasted like porridge, my tomato soup left me feeling whelmed (a mid-point between over and under whelmed) and my dinner of rice, kidney beans, mixed veg and curry sauce filled a gap.


Fancy doing this challenge yourself? Find out more here

2 days to go...

Day 2: Craving some sausage rolls

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” Mark Twain

Observations from today include: not liking black tea but drinking it to get some caffeine, appreciating value jam to liven up my porridge and being thankful for my 'treat toffees' of which I get 5 a day to give me a sugar boost.  

On my way to and from the office today, more than any other time before, I noticed all the smells from various eateries making their way into my nostrils. Usually this wouldn't bother me but today as I knew that I COULDN'T go in and buy anything. Today I have no choice what I eat, the food I have is the food I will eat and there is no room for manoeuvre. It has been said that 'Choices create temptation' but I would argue the opposite and say that a lack of choice leads to greater desire for something, in this case some sort of greasy snack. Even the manufactured smell of Subway was quite enticing.

When in Zimbabwe visiting Christian Aid partners we were told that people living in poverty often view technology/development as a plane. They can see it, see what it does but know that they will not partake of its services or benefit from it. It is this feeling of helplessness that even though they may be surrounded by wealth/development/hope that they are still outside its reach and as such are powerless to have direct involvement. To a far lesser degree I felt this same sense of powerlessness, that people were buying food and eating food that was beyond my reach and means. When friends and I say we have no money we usually do but simply are looking to spend it elsewhere; those living in extreme poverty literally don't have any money to spend on anything other than the essentials for life.

At lunch I had a tin of spaghetti hoops on toast and even though those around me had a more nutritious lunch I was content with my meal and it was substantial enough to give me some energy for my afternoons work. Lunches this week have actually been fine and aren't too far removed from what I ate whilst being a student and looking to save money wherever I could. Let's just say there have been times where I have eaten less well out of laziness or sheer determination to use up the food I had in the cupboard.


Dinner tonight was much the same as yesterday and the amount of rice I have means I am ensuring I am filled up but the blandness of the food does make it a slight chore to finish. And as the title suggests, snacking is what I am missing most - some sausage rolls and BBQ sauce would go down a treat.

3 more days to go...

Day 1: When food envy reached new levels

'No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.' 1 Corinthians 10:13

Today marked the beginning of living on £1 a day for all my food and drink. I am interested in how I will cope and react as I go about my daily routine not being able to accept any offers of food and drink and buy snacks when my stomach dictates when it is hungry. Today I can say that it was the temptation of food around me that was the most difficult thing.

The day started well with my bowl of porridge made with water and even as it solidified in the microwave it struck me that even on this minuscule budget I still had the luxury of using the microwave to make sure I cope with the demands of poverty line living.  I nearly failed before I had started as well, reaching for some apple juice from my fridge before remembering and putting it back - breaking daily habits is going to be difficult.

Lunch today was tasty and tomato soup with 4 slices of bread has never tasted so good and I will tell you why. I was at a meeting today which took place in a pub and after we had discussed the matters in hand everyone ordered some lunch. I obviously couldn't partake in this and had to first turn down a FREE pub lunch and secondly refute offers of chips form those who had a lovely looking chicken and chorizo wrap in front of them. 

Two different people have said to me today when I politely declined their offer of food that I should take their food as if someone in the developing world was offered food they would take it. This, on the one hand seemed like a ready made justification to eat a few chips. However on the other I know that my environment surrounded by friends and family who are nowhere near the poverty line means I am in the fortunate position of having a low risk of actually going hungry so have to be intentional about sticking to the challenge and bucking the comfortable 'food bubble' I am saturated in. It is the wider environment and support network that contributes to hunger moreover than simply an individuals plight.

Dinner - it tasted better than it looks (only a little)

So today I can say that at times I was  a little hungry (especially after cycling back from the station and then playing football) but my dinner of rice, kidney beans, mixed vegetables and curry sauce was substantial in quantity so filled gap and got me through the day. What I have realised today is the difficulty in being restricted in my food choices by my (adopted) means and small things like not eating when I want but having to be organised with what I eat and when I eat it.

Day 1 complete, only 4 more to go.

I went to the shop with £5 and came back with...

'As a child I was sometimes so hungry that I used to dream that one day I'd get locked in a grocery store' - George Forman (former boxer and face of the lean mean fat reducing grilling machine)

Yesterday I embarked upon my shopping trip for my live below the line (LBTL) challenge armed with a carefully researched list and 5 English pounds. I went to a leading supermarket that rhymes with Alfresco and was focused on getting in and getting out as quick as I could in order not too be lured in by the amazing offers and bargains that normally would make their way into my trolley.

Whilst planning for LBTL I consulted a few different menu ideas through the official website and also asked a number of people who had completed the challenge in the past. I made the decision to go with three meals a day which does mean my £1 will have to stretch a further than if I restricted myself to two but I think it will suit my routine better. I designed my own custom menu knowing what I do and don't like and focusing on quantity over and above quality and flavour.

On entering said supermarket I was immediately confronted with muffins and cookies which if bought would constitute a whole days food allowance - already the scale of this challenge was firmly hitting home. The first few items on my list: porridge, rice and frozen vegetables are to make up the bulk of what I eat for breakfast and dinner and they were no brainers in terms of being filling and nutritious. That was £1.80 already gone but also 10 out of 15 meals covered. The rest of the items that made it into my trolley were for lunches and to bulk out dinner and you can see what I bought in the picture below (talk about brand loyalty!)

One thing that I found interesting was just what can be bought for £5 and equally what can't be bought for £5. My average days food in a normal week would look something like this:

Breakfast: Rice Krispies for breakfast with milk and sugar, a coffee and a glass of fruit juice

Lunch: Sandwich with ham, mayonnaise and lettuce, 1 (though often 2) packets of crisps, a banana, a cup of tea

Pre-Dinner: Some sausage rolls or 4 slices of toast with creme cheese

Dinner: A tomato based pasta dish with mince with grated cheese on top, garlic bread, a coffee and an excessive amount of custard cream biscuits.

The above daily menu is not the most extravagant and I generally think I am quite frugal but that still adds up to well over £1 due to all the little additions I am accustomed to (like garlic bread, having meat with dinner and all the snacks I have). It is these things I think I am going to miss as my meals are stripped back to their most basic forms with only some of them having a good balance of protein, carbohydrate and vegetables. 

I was pleased with how much food I managed to buy with my £5 but now the penny has dropped that I will have to eat all this food next week...and nothing else.

£1 a day for 5 days - An Explanation

First things first, the pre-requisite knowledge you need is that I love food. I often have 4 meals a day, love a excessive amount of biscuits with a cup of coffee and can boast in having a good record at 'all you can eat buffets' (always getting value for money) and finishing a whole 18" pizza all by myself (nicknamed the bin-lid pizza).

Between Monday 15th and Friday 19th April I am going to live on £1 a day for 5 days for all my food. I am doing it now to encourage others to participate in the national Live Below the Line challenge which is from 29th April to the 3rd May 2013.

So that's what I am doing but why am I doing it you ask?

I am currently an intern for Christian Aid working with youth and students in the North East of England and as such my days are filled with travelling around attending, leading and participating in events where the main focus is on poverty, injustice and inequality. Day to day I work in an environment where issues and images relating to poverty are discussed and are therefore part and parcel of what we do. I do talks regularly talking about Christian Aid's work and the IF campaign and therefore have to read up on issues such as climate change, HIV/AIDS and hunger.

Global poverty an the fact that 1 in 8 people go to bed hungry is never far from my thoughts and actions.

I have had the privilege of spending 11 weeks in Africa over the past 4 years, working and volunteering in a variety of contexts. In my time in Kenya and Zimbabwe I have seen with my own eyes what poverty looks like, smells like and been told by individuals and communities what it feels like. Scenes in the Kibera slum in Kenya made me sad for the people who had to suffer from the realities of living in poverty, disgusted by the conditions that were 'normal' and angry about the injustice that has led to dignity, freedom and hope being stripped from fellow human beings.

My motivations for my work come from my experiences in Africa and I can tell you in detail of what hunger looks like and what problems it causes but I can't truly say that I can tell you what it feels like. So by living below the line for 5 days  I hope to broaden my own horizons by not just talking about what I have seen but step out of my comfort zone and go some way to standing in solidarity with individuals like Celina, Mabandla, David and Jonah who I have met on my travels.

I am excited about embarking on this 5 day venture as I know I am going to find it challenging but in the past I have always chickened out by drawing upon an excuse of being too busy or it not fitting in with my plans. This year I am probably busier than ever but feel this is something that I can't not do and experience for myself. I'm not doing it for my own pride and reputation or writing this blog to make you feel bad but simply to challenge myself and anyone who reads this about our everyday decisions and choices relating to food.

I will be updating this blog each day clocking my thoughts and feelings during the challenge and there is also going to be some video blogs showing some of the food I will be eating.

See you on the other side