Let the criticism begin. After four days of her $29 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) challenge, Gwyneth Paltrow quit the food stamp challenge. On Thursday, Paltrow took to Goop, where she talked about trying to live on food stamps and admitted to not following through completely. Basically, Paltrow confessed to quitting and owned up to failing miserably. She wrote, "As I suspected, we only made it through about four days, when I personally broke and had some chicken and fresh vegetables (and in full transparency, half a bag of black licorice)."
If that isn't enough, on Tuesday, April 14 (five days after Paltrow announced her SNAP participation), she chowed down at an $85 gourmet barbecue dinner hosted by David and Victoria Beckham, Page Six reports. Per Paltrow's rep, “She already finished the challenge last week but only got around to posting the photo of the groceries on [Thursday].” Nice try, because Paltrow is totally admitting to giving up.
Before she even admitted to quitting, Paltrow was under a lot of criticism for doing the food stamp challenge all wrong. Now, I'm sure, many are going to slam the actress for not trying hard enough. With that said, at least she's admitting she quit. You can't fault her for her honesty, right? Paltrow gave herself the grade of a "C-." Um, Paltrow, seeing as you failed completely, you really deserve an F, but, that's just my opinion.
Moving on. After being honest about throwing in the towel, Paltrow went on to talk about equal pay in the workplace and how "outraged" she is that it still doesn't exist. She wrote,
Sorry to go on a tangent, but many hardworking mothers are being asked to do the impossible: Feed their families on a budget which can only support food businesses that provide low-quality food. The food system in our beautiful country needs to be subjected to a heavy revision — it is a cyclical problem, with repercussions that we all feel. 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. 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.
I'm sure many agree with Paltrow about equal pay and how it can really impact lives, not to mention provide even more food options for their families, especially those in need.
Even though she totally gave up on an important challenge that raises hunger and poverty awareness, at least Goop owns up to it and brings up a good point in the process. Now, I don't agree with her quitting, but look at it this way: the fact she quit and is making headlines for it might shine an even brighter light on SNAP, equal pay, and open up a discussion, which was the point all along, right?
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