This is clearly not the fridge of someone living below the poverty line…

In France, you’re officially poor if your food budget is less than three euros per head per day. French daily Liberation examined the strategies the poor use to feed themselves, and looked at the contents of their refrigerators. Some of the findings:

The first nutritional casualties of poverty are fruits and vegetables; those are expensive items, along with prepared meals.

The poor develop storage strategies: they buy cheap items (potatoes, rice, pasta, basic milk products) in bulk because having a full refrigerator makes them feel better, less poor and marginalized.

Repetition is key. By definition, the poor do not have the luxury of a varied diet. They select filling food items, those that dull the feeling of hunger (pasta, rice). It’s not uncommon to find the same menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Not every family living below the poverty line has a refrigerator or freezer (because it’s a symbolic item, many poor do not tell social workers that they do not have a refrigerator). In that case, a window sill will do.

Source (The Global Sociology Blog) | Original article (in French) | Image source (Fridgewatcher)