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Gwyneth Paltrow Fails Food Stamp Challenge

Gwyneth Paltrow Fails Food Stamp Challenge

Gwyneth Paltrow has lasted only four days after being challenged to live for a week on $29 - the equivalent of what low-income families in the US get in food stamps.

The Hollywood mega star and life-style guru said she broke the pledge to have "some chicken and fresh vegetables (and in full transparency, half a bag of black liquorice)".

Days ago Paltrow posted a photo on social media to show what she had bought with $29 (£16) - or slightly more because "things like avocados and limes are cheap in Southern California".

Other items in her basket included coriander, eggs, kale and brown rice.

But despite failing her challenge, she rated her performance as a C-minus and wrote on her lifestyle website Goop that the effort had changed her perspective.

"As I suspected, we only made it through about four days," she wrote.

"My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget, even for just a few days - a challenge that 47 million Americans face every day, week, and year."

The actress said that 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".

"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," she added, before calling for equal wage for women.

Paltrow, a 42-year-old mother of two whose lifestyle advice sometimes draws criticism and mockery, announced last week that she had taken up the challenge from her friend celebrity chef Mario Batali on behalf of the NYC Food Bank.