OpinionsEditorials

Struggles aren’t social experiments

editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff and Des Delgadillo
editorial cartoon by Jacob Bogdanoff and Des Delgadillo

Gwyneth Paltrow recently took a food stamp challenge and although she aimed to raise awareness about the $29 weekly food stamp budget, she unintentionally minimized the challenge 47 million Americans face every week.

Mario Batali, Paltrow’s friend and Food Bank activist, encouraged Paltrow to abide by the Food Bank’s regulations and write about her experience on her weekly online publication Goop. Paltrow accepted the challenge and attempted to live on food stamps for a week, while trying to buy only nutritious meals.

Although the concept means well, Paltrow failed the challenge after four days when she bought a box of black licorice. During the week, she also attended a dinner for Victoria Beckham.

First of all, she did not fully accept the challenge. She could not possibly sympathize with the millions of Americans who are dependent on food stamps because she did break the parameters of the challenge.

Those who are dependent on food stamps cannot afford to buy luxury food items and they definitely cannot afford to treat their family to a five-star dinner when they get tired of their $29 weekly budget.

In her article about the experience, Paltrow does address her concerns about the difficulty of living on food stamps and even adds that she is upset there is a lack of equal pay in the workplace, but she also gives herself a grade for the challenge, saying she feels she deserves a C-.

Living on food stamps is not an academic course, it is a real challenge for low-income families, which should not be treated like an academic assignment for a grade.

Instead of accepting social experiment challenges, celebrities should actually donate funds to help those in need, or dedicate time to really discover the underlying problems that are associated with poverty, hunger and other social issues.

Making ends meet is a real problem faced daily by low-income Americans, and making a social experiment out of someone’s daily struggle should not be confused with caring.

The only real way to advocate for change is to physically do something about the problem.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Jacob Bogdanoff
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