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Following a Tory MP’s claims that there is no need for foodbanks in the UK and that people can afford to eat for 30p per day, The Northern Echo wanted to see if this could work in reality.
Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, told MPs in the House of Commons that rising hunger is not down to the cost-of-living crisis, it is instead due to a lack of domestic skills.
Read more: I worked a shift at a Darlington foodbank to see what it's like for those struggling
Speaking in a debate in parliament on Wednesday afternoon (May 11), Anderson said: “There’s not this massive use for foodbanks in this country.
“You’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly. They can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget.”
He also claimed Brits can make a meal for "around 30p."
We headed out to one of Britain’s most well-known discount supermarkets to get an idea of what kitchen staples could be purchased on such a tight budget.
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Unsurprisingly, even at prices considerably lower than most retailers, it was hard to see how a meal could be made for under 30p.
We visited Heron Foods in Cockerton, Darlington, to check how much essentials including milk, bread, tinned goods and tea bags cost.
One pint of Chestnut Dairies skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole milk costs £1, meaning, a third of a pint of milk per day still costs more than the target of 30p.
Hunger Breaks branded baked beans costing £0.39 each or three for £1. Even this budget-friendly dinner costs over the 30p target.
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Six bananas for £0.89, or 14.3p per banana. To abide by Lee Anderson's suggested daily spending, two bananas would constitute a meal.
Six eggs will cost 75p, or 12.5p per egg. Alternatively, a box of 10 eggs is priced at £1.29.
Bread has always been essential and the cheapest loaf we could find cost for £1 for 400g.
A tin of soup costs nearly double the 30p-per-meal target at 59p each.
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Tinned tuna is another staple, and a tin of Skipjack branded tuna chunks in brine (160g) cost. £0.69, over twice what Lee Anderson MP said the public could make a meal for.
The British public cannot survive without tea bags, and these Tetley tea bags will cost you £1 for 72 bags.
Instant noodles: Pot noodles costing £0.70 each.
This demonstrates that even on a very frugal budget, it is unrealistic to expect the public to make a meal on 30p per day, with a situation made worse with the increasing energy prices.
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The problem for most seems to be a lack of money, as opposed to a lack of home-economics skills.
The number of foodbanks in the UK has risen sharply in the last decade and there are now more foodbanks across the country than there are branches of McDonald's.
Speaking to Times Radio on Thursday, Mr Anderson doubled down on his remarks, saying he was being criticised for “talking common sense”.
“The point I was trying to make is that I think the actual food bank usage is exaggerated,” he said.
“I work with a local food bank in Ashfield and they’ve got a wonderful initiative where, when people come to the food bank, they’re given a food package but they have to enrol on a cooking course and a budgeting course – that’s the deal.”
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Following the comments, The Child Poverty Action Group claimed politicians “would do better to back real-world solutions, like bringing benefits in line with inflation this autumn”, while the Trussell Trust charity insisted “cooking meals from scratch won’t help families keep the lights on or put food on the table, if they don’t have enough money in their pockets”.
Meanwhile on Thursday evening, a minister has distanced the Government from controversial comments made by Mr Anderson.
Asked on Thursday on Sky News after Mr Anderson told the House of Commons that “generation after generation” of people “cannot budget” or make meals properly, justice minister Victoria Atkins said the remarks were “not right”.
“This is not the view of me or anyone else in Government. We want to give not just immediate help but longer-term support as well,” she said.
What do you make of his comments? Leave your thoughts below...
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