We hear time and again what a prosperous, affluent country Britain is, the sixth richest in the world. But aren’t we ashamed that people who need emergency food handouts are eating cold beans and stewed steak from the tin, or handing it back, because they can’t even heat it up? Jack Monroe Read Quote
Food is a weapon in austerity Britain. Hunger, the threat of and the reality of, is used to coerce and control. Jack Monroe Read Quote
Benefit sanctions have been applied in cases where a person has failed to turn up to the jobcentre because they are in hospital following a heart attack. A woman was sanctioned for attending cancer treatment. A man was sanctioned for attending a funeral. Jack Monroe Read Quote
It’s definitely not the case that every child living in poverty is eligible for free school lunches. Jack Monroe Read Quote
Many families teeter on the edges, not qualifying for the little support on offer, unwilling to seek it for fear of drawing attention to a household barely holding the pieces together, or hit by unexpected bills. Jack Monroe Read Quote
A startling confession for a food writer: all through high school, I struggled with a severe eating disorder. Jack Monroe Read Quote
I’m not organised, and I don’t cope well with deadlines, structure and routine. I’m chaotic. Always have been. Jack Monroe Read Quote
Regular readers will know that curries are my favourite thing, and I wanted to go back to the start and really research the history and philosophy of Indian cuisine, rather than just toasting spices, slow-cooking onions. I was hungry to understand this food that I love so much. Jack Monroe Read Quote
Yes, scrambled eggs are lovely, and I’ve eaten them, and enjoyed them, and that was OK. Now I don’t want to any more, and that’s OK too. Jack Monroe Read Quote
In my experience, yelling at people that they are wrong and disgusting rarely wins the argument, nor changes point of view. Jack Monroe Read Quote