Vale family eat for £1 a day (From Evesham Journal)

Vale family eat for £1 a day

5:48pm Friday 22nd March 2013 in News By Sarah Taylor

A VALE family of four are putting themselves in the shoes of poverty stricken people all over the world as they take on the challenge of living on £1 a day.

The Hulbert family, of Honeybourne, are taking on the Live Below the Line Challenge to raise money for APT Action on Poverty, a charity based in Cropthorne.

Mum, Alex Daniels, husband Jon Hulbert and their boys, Liam, aged 13, and 19-year-old Matthew, are attempting to exist on the following:

Our Shopping List for 5 days: £20 for Four.

1kg value rice £0.40 ; potatoes £1.15; 0.5 kg lentils £1.09 400g mushrooms  79p; 1kg value pasta 38p; .5 kg margarine 75p .5 kg flour 40p; 325g sweetcorn 32p; 1.5 kg carrots 69p; .5kg bacon 0.81p; 380 g tin leaf spinage  55p; 284ml Soya cream 59p; 2 tinned toms 62p; Bread flour £2.25;
1kg Porridge Oats 75p; 2*4l Milk £2;
15 Eggs £1.34; 1 Lemon 30p; 0.5 kg sugar 79p; Value Bananas £1; 1kg Onions 63p; 80 bags Tea 27p;
340 malt loaf 30p; 10 Sultana scones 50p; 75g Spreads - variety  0.96
TOTAL  19.63
That's the plan!
It looks a big list - but then there are 4 of us! - See more at: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/alexdaniels#sthash.XnJZVbKe.dpuf

Their challenge started on Friday.

Alex keeps us up to date with how it's going.

Day 1: Had to go to three supermarkets last night to get the best deals! Boy do they try and hide the value stuff!

Everyone was OK with porridge for breakfast and with sandwiches, 1/4 tin of sardines, a 5p scone and a carrot for lunch!

Going to have some fun this evening with doing an egg in a baked potato - an idea from Scouts camp so this is a popular one!

Please keep the money coming in for APT Action on Poverty! - See more at: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/alexdaniels#sthash.XnJZVbKe.dpuf

Day 2: Well it can be done. It takes a lot of detailed planning and effort, and we have a lot of food (and drink!) that we miss, but its possible. For us that is.

If you think of people who only have seasonal products and have to walk to a market - not drive and find a range of value products - very different.

I've chosen to do the challenge because I know my brother is with my Dad this weekend - I don't have to choose between buying health care for an elderly relative and feeding my kids.

Its tough enough making sure they don't go hungry! I got quite vexed when I couldn't find the value carrots!

APT Action on Poverty is helping people living in extreme poverty to feed their families for the rest of their lives - not just for 5 days. And I've seen their work first hand.

Please sponsor us if you can - See more at livebelowtheline.com/me/alexdaniels#sthash.AUwU9sRW.dpuf

Day 3: Porridge again for breakfast. The lentil and tinned spinach wasn't a hit with the whole family last night so I'm hoping the Lentil soup with carrots will be an improvement! It was filling though!

Looking forward to our 'poor man's' Carbonara this evening - I'm missing my comfort food.

It still feels a tough challenge. But not impossible. Not as impossible as it would be trying to feed my family on one or two seasonal products - in the good times. 

Please sponsor our family! - every individual APT Action on Poverty can help to feed their families, counts.

Day 3 (Part 2): Carbonara was a real hit this evening - the cooking bacon is great! Unfortunately we're going to be short of pasta - we'd read it as 50g per person when we'd calculated the cost (we're measuring everything carefully rather than my normal 'chuck it in'. This is for a starter (obvious now), not for a main. So on Tuesday, when we were supposed to have the rest of the packet, we'll be using all sorts to make up for it!

We're also running out of sugar - homemade jam on the porridge tomorrow!

Day 4: Working at home and feeling hungry and in need of comfort food. Getting low on sugar, and my husband miscalculated the amount we needed for pasta – basing it on starter proportions rather than main courses! Visit https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/alexdaniels to donate. 

Day 5: Day 4 was more complicated. The 'meal dea'l we pick up from the garage in between 1 son's clarinet lesson and the other's climbing lesson suddenly seemed not very good value! So it all had to be cooked on Sunday - as both parents are at work on Monday - and eaten a bit early.

Not a difficult task - but how often do we stop and think how lucky we are to be able to have access to so many good things to do. These are such luxuries.

Meanwhile at work I was helping someone to look for information. And we came across a widow called Betty who had been kidnapped and abused by forces in Uganda, and had at least 5 children to look after. I had met her in Uganda. She was determined to become a 'leader of women' to build her community, and had a group of 30 odd people. An awesome person. My efforts are so tiny.

Thank you all so much for sponsoring me. I have seen the work APT does and every penny counts.

Day 5:  Thanks to my family! My family has been awesome. Getting into the challenge – and doing it as a team. I’m so proud of my boys! My 13 year old’s attitude was “just because I’m young it doesn’t mean I don’t care and can’t do anything”.

I’m not a widow alone – some of the people APT Action on Poverty helps are so excluded from society because of deep misconceptions – such as of AIDS or disability - they have no help or support at all. Yet they come out with a fighting spirit to live positively. I am deeply humbled.
And I’m so glad we did this challenge. It was difficult, but thought provoking. Go on. Give it a go! Sign up for APT Action on Poverty!

So how was it really? We have been stunned by lots of people’s fantastic support – thank you! People we barely know have been inspired to give. Every penny is valued and appreciated. Together as a family we have raised nearly £600.

And I have been humbled by the comparison with people struggling to live off less than this for everything, without the choices which we still had...value rice or pasta? Tinned tomatoes or sweetcorn? No coffee, no wine. But plenty of clean water. And biggest of all, no real worries about my kids going hungry. Thank you APT Action on Poverty for helping others to feed their kids.

We did it!  The final meal consisted of all the leftovers – pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, sweetcorn and what was left of the cooking bacon. Bit unconventional, but filling!

- See more at: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/alexdaniels#sthash.wXWddDIW.dpuf

Husband Jon Hulbert has been updating a blog as well.

Day 1: Well, it has started. First day was interesting for us all - I am doing the challenge with my wife and 2 sons aged 13 and 10.

Watery porridge for breakfast; sandwiches with not a lot of filling for lunch, plus a carrot, and scone (only 5p!); jacket potato filled with an egg for tea. Only a couple of cups of tea during the day and plenty of glasses of water.
I normally eat lots of fruit, so I am already missing that - and 4 days still to go.

Day 3: Well day 2 is now behind us.

Lentil curry for tea, which would not normally be high on my list of favourites!
It was filling though and with a bit more seasoning and a few extra ingredients it may get into our favourites list!
Got the drinks wrong yesterday so had last cup of tea at 4.00 pm. Long wait until this mornings! Will be more restrained today.

Day 3 cont... Feeling really pleased with ourselves

Lunch was bread and lentil soup - tasty and filling and looking forward to Carbonara for tea followed by pancakes. James Olphin of Continental Landscapes even promised to have my glass of wine for me - so I didn't even need worry about that.
However it is important to read the directions on the package properly. Clearly stated on the pasta 50 grams per person, but if I had read further it then went on to say for starters! Main course was 75 to 100 grams. So went short tonight and will also go short on Tuesday as we were using the rest of the packet then! That's something to look forward to.
If that wasn't bad enough all didn't go well with cooking the pancakes. Yes, me again! 

Day 4: Had meeting this morning, which ran into and through lunch. No problem except it was in a pub and the others went ahead and had a full cooked meal.

I had to sit there and watch them whilst nursing my glass of water! There were lots of comments about how good the food was.

However the pub manager, Steve at Strawberry Fields, Evesham did sponsor me; and Matt at the meeting has agreed to do the challenge!
The meeting goes down as worth while torture.
This all helps APT Action on Poverty provide a sustainable future to some of the poorest people in the world. - See more at: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/jonhulbert#sthash.R1WnC0XG.dpuf

And so has son Liam Hulbert, who said: "I am only 13 but it doesn't mean that I shouldn't help (I raised £178 at school last year). Today extreme poverty is unjustifiable and unfair."

Day 2: I am doing live below the line with my brother, father and mother. I have been really looking forward to the challenge because it helps APT Action on Poverty which helps so many people who are not as fortunate as we are. Yesterday we had watery porridge for breakfast ( which was not as bad as I thought it would be.) Then for lunch we had sardine sandwiches which were fine, a scone (5p) and a carrot. Then for tea we had a jacket potato filled with egg. Same breakfast today but for lunch we had a boiled egg each, and three pieces of homemade bread. Tonight the plan is to have lentils. I am missing the fruit juice in the morning and just fruit generally as it is very expensive.