Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Food security and poverty tourism

I cannot recall the last time I read a positive column about Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow’s greatest flaw in the public eye has been her inability to relate with others, more so thanatypicalHollywood celebrity. Consequently, I was not surprised when I heard about what had recently put her in headlines.

Last week, Paltrow accepted a challenge from the Food Bank of New York City by attempted to live on a one-week grocery budget of $29, the average amount families receive per person through SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). She took a picture of the food she had bought and posted it to her Twitter account, with a status saying, “This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week.” I guessed that Paltrow had hoped to expose herself to thebleak realities of everyday lives for millions on Americans.What I wondered about most was how she would go about executing the challenge, and what effect, if any, she hoped to have after it.

ADVERTISEMENT

I am sure no matter how Paltrowperformedthe challenge,shewould have received some criticism by virtue of her image as privileged and unaware. Still, even with this in mind, one cannot help understanding her critics when looking at the photo she tweeted. On a table laid a carton ofone dozeneggs, brown rice, black beans, peas, tortillas and a colorful array of fresh vegetables, lime and cilantro.

Although Paltrow may have intended to show just how difficult it is to maintain a healthy diet on the budget food stamps provides, she missed the mark in buying such a large amount of fresh food at all. Many families enrolled in SNAP live in food deserts, where fresh vegetables and fruit are not readily available in inner cities. Furthermore, several of these families do not have access to a vehicle to reach markets where food like this is sold, as they depend on public transportation. What's worse, even Paltrow was only able to sustain her experiment for four days.

Putting aside the issue of just howunrealistic her purchases were, there remains a slew of questions and concerns for challenges like these. What does embarking on a challenge like this achieve? I suppose one aim could be to better one’s public or personal image. Another motive could be to increase understanding of the impoverished lives many around us lead. However, if carelessly executed, this can quickly morph into poverty tourism, where outsiders can seek novelty in the harsh realities of hunger, homelessness and the aftermath of natural disaster while being able to escape at any given moment. Ever the optimist, I think most people enter with the intention of educating themselves on issues like food security that, while not directly affecting them, are pressing for millions of families around the world.

Yet, is this reason enough? Satisfying one’s curiosity may be innocent enough, and an attempt to gainanew outlook is commendable. We don’t have to look as far as Hollywood to find people seeking an experience that will put their own lives in perspective. Only last week, the Center for Jewish Life, Pace Center for Civic Engagement and Oxfam America sponsored the Hunger Banquet, where participants received a ticket assigning them to an income bracket and life narrative, all based on current statistics on poverty. The bracket you were in determined what sort of meal you would receive. Guests heard from a graduate student and former Oxfam CHANGE fellow, and at dinner’s end, they were asked to share thoughts on the evening. Lastly, those participating were “invited…to take action to right the wrong of poverty.”

The final sentence is critical, because frankly, I do not think wanting to learn is enough. Rather, I do not think wanting to learn about important social issues warrants entering a community where what was once a distant policy issue becomes someone’s everyday life. If you are going to adopt someone’s personal space and narrative momentarily so that you can leave more knowledgeable than when you entered, it is your responsibility to do something meaningful with what you have learned.

I have no doubt that the controversy of the “SNAP challenge” will soon go away. Poverty is a well-hidden issue that most Americans do not encounter unless they directly experience it. When it gains the attention it deserves, the realization that solutions are complex and may come at a personal cost turns many newfound advocates away. Yet at the very least, we can commend Gwyneth Paltrow for using her fame to turn the spotlight on the issue. Perhaps before anotherissue takes its place, a bill or program can address the steady decline on resources used to fight poverty. Because of course, even the most well-intentioned people can escape the slum they visit or prematurely end their challenge like Paltrow did. Without comprehensive change, these “challenges” are never-endingrealitiesfor millions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Lea Trusty is a junior from Saint Rose, La. She can reached at ltrusty@princeton.edu.

Subscribe
Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »