In September 2022, five MPPs from the province of Ontario announced their intention of going on a two-week “social assistance diet.” In an effort (some say publicity stunt) to raise awareness around the need to increase the level of financial support given to those receiving assistance on account of disability, these five women vowed to spend only $95.21 on groceries during the two-week period.
“To pressure the PC government to double social assistance, myself and my MPP colleagues are living on a ‘welfare diet’ grocery budget of $47.60 a week. We encourage the Minister of Social Services Merrilee Fullerton to join us and double the rates,” tweeted Jessica Bell on the day they started. And later she said, “While we, as MPPs, cannot possibly know how it feels to live on ODSP alone, these two weeks have highlighted for each of us the struggle to afford fresh, healthy food on such a small budget, and how hard it can be to function or focus when you’re hungry,” according to an article by CTV News.
Ok, it’s a little silly. Or maybe a lot silly depending on your tolerance for the antics of politicians. Some ate mostly carbs. Another had trouble planning her meals properly so that she ended up hungry during the day, which made her tired – too tired to concentrate in the legislature. She also ran out of money by the end of the two-week period.
I don’t deny that it is difficult to eat well on $47.60 a week, but you really have to wonder: Were they even trying? Or did they approach their weird social experiment by automatically following the assumptions they had going in?
But there was one quote that really stood out to me:
“I did try to have as normal as close to my own diet as I could,” Thunder Bay—Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois said. “But I also ran out of money.”
“I did get broccoli. I tried having asparagus. You try to chunk it out so that you’ve got a little bit every day. Of course it only lasts so long before it starts to turn so you have to plan very, very carefully,” she said.
When I read the other statements I rolled my eyes. When I read this one I laughed out loud. But then it got me thinking. Shopping on a tight budget is a real skill, but it’s usually only one you develop out of necessity. It requires effort and can be very stressful – why put yourself through that unless you absolutely have to? So maybe, just maybe, without knowing the personal histories of these women, I could cut them some slack and assume they just don’t know any better.
So let’s assume that Ms. Vaugeois went into this experiment with a genuine will to do her best. If I were teaching a course called Grocery Shopping 101, I would put her statement in front of the class and ask them to tell me what’s wrong with it.
So if you like, take a moment to see how you would respond, then check out my answers below:
1. “I did try to have as normal as close to my own diet as I could.”
Well, she’s just setting herself up for failure there. I can tell you that when I was working I spent about double what they allowed themselves on their “social assistance diet,” and I wasn’t making anywhere near what an MPP makes, which, according to the CBC, was $116,500 in 2022. So I have a hard time believing that the “normal” diet of an MPP would be even remotely within the reach of a person receiving government assistance. If your income level has dropped, you have to adjust your spending. Even if you think you were living pretty modestly for your income level, you have to take a step back and look at your spending and see what adjustments you can make. If necessary (and it probably will be), put your calculations in writing.
2. “I did get broccoli.”
This one’s a little hard to judge. Depending on the week she went shopping and which store she went to, she might have found a good deal on broccoli. It can be pretty affordable in the summer and early fall. But it can also be a little pricey. Broccoli is rarely cheap in Ontario. But the key to shopping on a budget – especially a very tight one – is that you can’t just rock up to the grocery store and know which fresh vegetables you’re going to buy. You have to go with an open mindset and pick up what’s cheapest and freshest or what might need to be used immediately and so is marked down. Sometimes it’s broccoli. Sometimes it’s something else. And in Ontario in September, you still should have plenty of options among the fresh produce.
I should also note that not all broccoli is equal in the grocery store. I am giving Ms. Vaugeois the benefit of the doubt and assuming that she bought heads of broccoli with the stalks attached. Those are the most economical, especially if you eat the stalks, which are not only perfectly edible but also delicious (the leaves, too, are edible). If you buy just the crowns, it is more expensive. And if you buy a bag of florets, it is more expensive still.
3. “I tried having asparagus.”
What? Why? Was she seized by a moment of temporary insanity? I would never ever buy asparagus on a tight budget. And I love asparagus. But even when it’s in season – which is the only time I buy it – it’s not cheap. In fact, it’s probably the vegetable that has the highest cost to food bulk ratio. And it is most definitely not in season in September. It is only very briefly in season in Ontario between May and June. So you could blow a quarter of your food budget on asparagus in September, but why on earth would you?
4. “You try to chunk it out so that you’ve got a little bit every day. Of course it only lasts so long before it starts to turn so you have to plan very, very carefully.”
This one puzzles me. Vegetables don’t suddenly spoil faster just because you’re on a tighter budget. Whatever the size of your budget, unless you are comfortable with throwing away food, you have to be careful when it comes to produce – both what you buy and how much you buy. If, like many working people, you want to minimize your trips to the grocery store, you can be savvy about it and buy a range of vegetables – some that spoil sooner (those you eat right away) and some that might last a week or two (however much you might want them now, you have to be disciplined and save them for later). There was period in my life where I only went grocery shopping once every two weeks, and I never had a problem with vegetables.
Now, if you insist on having only fragile vegetables that spoil easily and only cooking them fresh each night, your only option is to shop more frequently. But even asparagus will last several days in the fridge, and there are ways of making it last longer. And broccoli will last at least a week as long as you make sure to choose heads that are relatively fresh.
But let’s say, like I sometimes do, you go to the grocery store in the late summer/early fall, and because you live in Canada and the growing season is so short, your poor little brain just can’t comprehend the abundance of fresh, affordable produce before you. So you go a little crazy and buy more than you can possibly eat in the time before it goes bad. What are your options? 1. Cook it (that’ll extend its life at least a few more days). 2. Freeze it. 3. Cook it, then freeze it. (Ok, there’s also 4. Cook it and invite people over to eat it.)
And that brings me to another point. Frozen vegetables, though they are not as nice to eat as fresh ones, are just as nutritious and much cheaper. You could bulk up on peas and carrots, if you want to get the most bang for your buck (I don’t include corn because of the starchiness – evil, evil carbs), but you could also get broccoli and beans at a lower cost than you would if you bought them fresh. And the bonus is you don’t have to worry about them going bad. (Second bonus: you don’t have to wash them!)
I have nothing against these ladies, but I do think that their little experiment was silly, patronizing, and self-indulgent. I have no idea how it was supposed to “pressure” the government, and all they really showed was how far even the most socially-minded politicians are from the everyday reality of most people. On the other hand, if you are so privileged that you can buy asparagus in September without seeing anything extravagant in that and you still campaign for those less fortunate than you, I can have respect for that. I’m not sure I would want you representing me, but I can respect that.
However, what this misguided experiment did highlight for me was how much the ability to shop wisely and well within strict financial limitations really is a skill. It’s not one we’re taught so much as pick up along the way out of necessity.
I laughed when I read the reports because I knew these were five women putting on an act. But let’s imagine for a moment that our asparagus-buying minister is actually a woman who has just lost her job and unexpectedly finds herself living on a much-reduced unemployment income. After paying her mortgage or rent and her utilities, after filling her car with gas (because it’s hard to unlearn the lifestyle she’s become accustomed to), she has a very narrow budget for food, which she throws away on inappropriate items simply because she doesn’t know any better. And because she has bought into our consumer culture, she has always spent what she earns and so doesn’t have an emergency fund. And so by the end of the month, she is going hungry.
Suddenly it’s not so funny anymore.
It’s also not so funny because there are a lot of people out there who are truly struggling. And they are struggling, in part, because they have never learned some of the basic principles around grocery shopping and they haven’t learned the basic life skill of shopping on a budget. It is my hope that the Purchasing Power blog can help people develop this skill and take back control of their grocery bill.