Tips to overcoming hunger on a tight budget
Journalists weigh in on easy feeding solutions for rainy days.
People eat different kinds of foods, and follow a variety of diets according to their levels of affordability. Unfortunately, South Africa remains a country where more than one person knows what it’s like to not have any food, or be down to their last R50 on the day before payday.
Journalists are especially skilled at surviving on a tight budget, and keeping the tank full for long, arduous days. Members of the Caxton family with variable dietary patterns were asked how they feed themselves on tight-budget days.
Waydon Jacobs (25) recently began his career as a journalist.
“How did the price of eggs skyrocket?” Jacobs exclaimed. “On a rainy day, though, with R50, I’d get a Kota and an energy drink. That’s my comfort food, my staple lunch. ”
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Jacobs advises that anybody with R50 remaining purchase eggs and bread for home, towards always having food to return to.
Prince Ncube (21) also just began his journey as a print journalist. His counsel for persons looking to feed themselves on a stretched budget, is to get apps for restaurants where collected points can be redeemed in exchange for menu items. His recommendation is to invest in a McSaver’s meal on a rainy day.
“It’s a good idea to just use your app when you go to McDonald’s,” Ncube said. “The point system they use allows customers to earn points by scanning, and that enables purchasing items from the menu using points. The best day to go is a Tuesday, because everything is double on a Tuesday.”
Also read: Tight economy and budgets force people to hang on to their cars for longer
Neo Phashe, who practices a pescatarian diet, meaning she eats fish, but no other meat, painted a bleak picture of the availability of affordable options, encouraging employees to carry lunchboxes.
“There’s nothing affordable in my life,” said Phashe. “R50 in a day as a journalist is not enough within my dietary preference.”
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