Gwyneth Paltrow is no stranger to criticism especially since the launch of her lifestyle platform, GOOP, in which most items are described by social media users as too luxurious to be truly enjoyed by the public. However, her latest stunt appeared to have earned the ire of countless netizens as the actress and health guru was placed at the receiving end of outrage and disappointment from social media users all over the Internet, according to The Wrap.
In an earlier report, Paltrow announced her participation and active involvement in the Food Bank NYC Challenge. The actress' name was linked to the project after Mario Batali, a board member of the New York City Food Bank, challenged her to participate in an effort to raise awareness for the cause. In a nutshell, the challenge is for those who intend to participate to "live on a food stamp budget for one week," which means spending only a measly $1.38 for every meal. The project came into light following the cuts implemented on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, since the year 2013. Therefore, those who rely on these supplements will need to undergo more budget cuts to feed their families.
For her part, Paltrow then posted a photo in her Twitter account showing the items she purchased using $29 which included eggs, limes, whole grain brown rice, cilantro, and corn. This post later became viral as social media users began to spat criticism at the health and lifestyle guru's effort to commiserate with the less privileged members of society.
"I am no chef, but it looks to me as if the above snapshot would fail miserably in feeding a whole family for even just one meal, let alone a whole week. It does, however, look like the makings of an excellent detox recipe-if you happen to enjoy that kind of thing," wrote Inae Oh of Mother Jones, referring to the picture of the grocery items posted by the actress.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Vipond Brink of The Frisky focused her criticisms on the nutritious benefits of the items and provided an analysis on the more realistic grocery list of actual SNAP recipients compared with Paltrow's purchases. "Nutritionally speaking, this is a vitamin bonanza. But people who live on SNAP benefits don't just have to get nutrients, they have to get actual calories, because they tend to have very physical lives, doing service labor and taking care of children and not necessarily being able to afford a car and so forth," she wrote.
