Too poor to eat properly

Always excuses for the lazy.
People who work anti-social hours have time during the day to shop and prepare food; shops are open far into the night. Our mothers and grandmothers had to walk or bus to the shops several times a week and carry home all the food, no refrigerators to store it, or they grew it, even more time consuming. In between washing by hand, drying clothes without heat, (after making many of them), and cleaning their houses without any labour saving devices such as hoovers or even detergent.

Absolutely spot on notanan2 and MissAdventure
It needs a lot more than 100grams of mince and a potato to make a tasty meal. It needs, seasoning, power, time and skill.

(She also points out that you can no longer get a tin of kidney beans for 17p)

Jack Monroe is the FIRST to speak out about how noone should ever be in the position she was in when she had to count out 17 pennies for a tin of kidney beans.

The trauma of her poverty has probably contributed to her breakdowns and her alcohol problem.

She is not a poster child for how "fine" it is to cook on a tight budget, she campaigns. She was no merry pauper. It took its toll.

And her chance rise to fame came about because she was NOT managing on her tight budget, and needed to £250 she got for selling her first story!

I think there is a vast difference between going through a lean time, and living in constant poverty.
Anyone can manage for a few months, but appliances wear out, stocks deplete, and so on.

It is those who work antisocial hours for little pay who are using foodbanks. They do not have the time nor the skills to whip up a cheap meal from scratch.
Our grandmothers had the luxury of time.

I think many families just run out of money, full stop.
When, about 10 years ago, Jack Monroe published her book A girl called Jack about life on benefits, , her food budget for herself and young son was about £10 a week. Even mince or cheap chicken is beyond that kind of budget - and she certainly couldn't afford to buy a slow cooker and would have had to think about the fuel cost if slow cooking in the oven.

Having said that, many of the children going unfed to school, are from families with substance abuse or with other other social management and mental health issues that are exacerbated by benefit poverty.

Having said that I do think we should do more to help these families, or at least there children.

Agree with Miss Adventure, I can whip something tasty up with a cheap cut of meat and some veggies...

.... because I have a cupboard full of spices, a freezer with frozen fresh herbs & home made stock, a slow cooker, a steamer, casserole dishes, a crock pot, I can afford to put the oven on for however long I need etc, tinned tomatoes & flour, dried lentils/pasta/rice etc

Without my store cupboards some plane mince and a carrot would be miserable and barely palatable. With my store cupboards full and bountiful I can transform that mince & carrot into: chilli, burgers & slaw, Chapattis and spicey mince, meatballs & pasta.... the list is endless.

But my stores are well stocked and the cost if that is way more than a pack of mince and a carrot.

Yes I agree,and this is how most people I grew up with managed to feed their families. Just like you, I continue to make these meals.
I think there are several reasons why some younger people don’t do this, many don’t ’t have enough money for gas / electric, some have never been taught how to cook the most basics of meals.
I don’t think schools teach them either. It really should be a top priority.

Its nice to have a good store cupboard and veg to hand, but I think for a lot of people things have gone too far for that.
1.2 million using food banks, too. (I think)