I got bored and pondered poverty and used maths...

[krooton]

The discussion of poverty cropped up yesterday, and it reminded me of when I first moved to the UK and had to feed 3 people on £20 a week.

Using Sainsburys as a benchmark, I concluded that a person can eat 3 meals a day for under £1

Sainsbury's Apples, Basics (loose) 1kg = 69p = 7x 150g apples = 9.9p per apple

Sainsbury's White Loaf, Basics 800g = 38p = 18 slices = 4.2p per 2 slices
Sainsbury's Spaghetti, Basics 410g = 14p = 2x 205g servings = 7p per serving


Sainsbury's Rice, Basics 1kg = 73p = 7x 150g servings = 10.4p per serving
Sainsbury's Mixed Vegetables, Basics 1kg = 77p = 7x 150g servings = 11p per serving
Sainsbury's Red Kidney Beans in Water, Basics 420g = 19p = 2x 210g servings = 10p per serving
Sainsbury's Tuna Chunks, Basics 185g = 58p = 2x 90g servings = 29p per serving


Sainsbury's Muesli, Basics 1kg = 58p = 7x 150g servings = 8.3p per serving
Sainsbury's UHT Skimmed Milk, Basics 1L = 54p = 7x 150ml servings = 7.7p per serving.


Breakfast:

150g muesli + 150ml milk = 16p

Lunch:

2 slices bread and half a can of spaghetti = 11.2p
150g apple = 9.9p

Dinner:

150g rice + 150g frozen veg + half a can of kidney beans + half a can of tuna = 60.4p

Total day spend for 3 main meals = 97.5p

And that's using Sainsburys, could prolly get it cheaper at Asda/Tesco

Not nice food, but you don't starve...

Puts things into a funny perspective, given I paid £1.60 for a small Innocent smoothie this morning

 

[krooton]

I guess it'd just about sustain you for a while, but you couldn't live off that little for a long period I don't think. It looks reasonably balanced though overall.

I usually aim for under £2 for a main meal, mabye £4-5 a day, all with groceries from that supermarket. Of course, if you buy anything out it'll cost you far more and those smoothies are very expensive (though delicious!).

Yeah, was just a rough thing though, pretty sure you could have a very balanced week at £2 a day, albeit with crappy basics food.

A whole day's food for the price of a supermarket sandwich!

 

[krooton]

The problem I'd have with living cheaply like that is boredom - I couldn't eat the same things day in and day out.

If I worked out other cheap meals, that would be fine, but by buying in bulk enough to get the prices low, and eating/living by yourself, by the time meal A has come round again, the food has gone bad.

Well pasta/rice/canned goods/frozen goods have stupidly long shelf lives.

In fact, it's only fresh fruit and veg that would really be impacted.

But then when you are actually starving on the breadline, having variety with your meals is the least of your worries.

 

[krooton]

I doubt eating that everyday would be that healthy. Could end up being very thin!

Hmmmm... only 1,200 calories in total, massive weight loss would indeed ensue.

With £2 a day the calorie requirement could easily be met, but you would obviously have a higher fat/sugar/salt intake than needed.

 

[krooton]

Lol!

It's not like I'm advocating this diet, I was just interested to see what could be done from a cheap perspective.

I usually spend around £30-£40 a week on food.