Poverty is Living in a World of No

Alex Andreou explains to food activist Jamie Oliver why poor people, of which he was one, often eat shitty food. One reason: It’s cheap. Another: It’s easy to say yes to: “What I had not understood before I found myself in true poverty, and what Oliver probably does not, is that it means living in a world of ‘no’. Ninety-nine per cent of what you need is answered ‘no’. Ninety-nine per cent of what your kids ask for is answered ‘no’. Ninety-nine per cent of life is answered ‘no’. Cinema? No. Night out? No. New shoes? No. Birthday? No. So, if the only indulgence that is viable, that is within budget, that will not mean you have to walk to work, is a Styrofoam container of cheesy chips, the answer is a thunderous ‘YES’.”

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