Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Poverty Activist Rips Conservative Who Claims Struggling Families Can Simply Live On Plain Pasta

Poverty Activist Rips Conservative Who Claims Struggling Families Can Simply Live On Plain Pasta
Ockra/Getty Images; Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images; @KEdge23/Twitter

As if he were asking for the storm, Kevin Edger—who bills himself as an opinionated political and weather enthusiast—was dished out a major deluge.

Edger retweeted a report from the BBC about a nurse who said she skips meals occasionally to afford to feed her kids. He added his unqualified criticism of the working mom.


In his tweet, Edger wrote:

“Yet you can buy a big bag of dried pasta, that would feed a family, for about £0.50p [$0.65]…."
“If you shop and cook properly, you can eat healthy meals really cheaply.”

Then to further denigrate the woman featured in the BBC report that focused on the cost of living, the working poor and food insecurity, Edger added:

"I would love to see how she spends her salary...”

His comments were widely ridiculed for their arrogant tone and for completely missing the point of the BBC report.

Also coming to the working mom's defense was Jack Monroe, a noted cookbook author and expert in eating affordably. Monroe provided Edger with the nutritional facts of his plain pasta suggestion.

Monroe responded:

"Hi Kevin, THE literal expert on budget cooking here who has spent the last decade on the front line of food poverty in this country."
"500g bag of budget pasta, 29p."
"That’s 5 meals of 100g plain pasta, no butter, no salt, no sauce, no nutrition, and a whole 155 calories a meal!"

She continued:

"That’s only 456 calories a day, but hey, it’s not like nursing is physically demanding, on your feet all day, shift work, is it?"
"Operating at a deficit of 1,544 calories a day is perfectly sustainable in your head, right?"
"I sure hope so, because I’ve got a challenge for you pal!"

She then challenged Edger to follow his own suggestion.


@BootstrapCook/Twitter

Monroe added of the people who agreed with Edger's hot take on food poverty:

"All these absolute wet wipes in your replies saying how EASY it is to cook healthy meals on a budget - pals I’ve been waiting ten years now for someone else to come along and help take some of the weight off my shoulders here, and yet here I am, working 100+ hours a week…"
"...helping people like Rebecca day after day, while people like you sit in your comfy lives telling us all how you’d be so much better at being poor than we are."
"SO DO IT THEN."
"Show us all how it’s done and I look FORWARD to your bestselling cookbook on the subject. Best of luck! 😌"

Her tweet brought attention to the conversation, getting over 40,000 likes.

In response, Edger limited who can comment on his expert opinions.

@KEdge23/Twitter

Before that, one person replied:

"I hope none of these people criticizing our nurse's plight are ever in need of care from a frontline health workers exhausted from poor diet and too tired to give them the care they need."
"Our key workers should not have to stress about how to put a basic meal on the table."



Another person commented:

"The more important question Is why is he angry at the Nurse and not angry at the fact that she has to skip meals or, as he says, should just eat pasta."



Someone else noted:

"He doesn't have any concern about feeding those in food poverty in the great way you do Ms Monroe."
"He is simply a gadfly wishing to make trouble (while being utterly clueless regarding the facts about nutrition)."

Another person wrote:

"This really isn’t about food or budgeting. It’s about denial of poverty by defining is in terms of peoples deficiencies."
"Social Darwinism, you get to the place in society you deserve, your worth is your wealth."
"Toxic blaming scapegoating."



Edger has yet to reply to Monroe or agree to her challenge.

More from Trending

Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less
​​Elon Musk
Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images

Anti-Elon Banner at Stanford

Stanford University graduates were given creative advice from above as an airplane flew over the graduation ceremony with a banner reading, “CONGRATS! DON’T WORK FOR ELON.”

The moment was captured last Sunday during the university’s 134th Commencement ceremony, where the Class of 2025 received their degrees at Stanford Stadium.

Keep ReadingShow less
Simone Ashley; Brad Pitt in 'F1'
Arnold Jerocki/L'Oreal/Getty Images

'F1' Director Speaks Out After Fan Outrage Over 'Bridgerton' Star's Scenes Getting Cut From Film

Once the F1 Grand Prix bug bites you, it's hard to let the passion and drive for the sport go, and most fans are eager to consume any additional content, from interviews to documentaries to full-length films.

Coming later this month is F1, starring Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, who missed his shot at stardom in a near-fatal accident in the 1990s. Thirty years later, his former team is struggling to succeed and convince him to come back to the track, but this time, he has to learn that it's not something he can do alone.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Sabrina Carpenter claps back

Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album has caused quite a stir in people's espresso after she revealed the cover art in a post on X.

On June 11th, the American singer posted the image of herself on her hands and knees, wearing a black bodycon dress with a ribbon and black heels. Carpenter’s hand touches the knee of a mystery man wearing a black suit who is seen gripping a lock of the bombshell blonde’s hair.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons
Christopher Polk/Penske Media/Getty Images

'Modern Family' Star Comes Out As Bisexual Using Iconic Clip From The Show

When your breakout role was on something as iconic and nostalgic as Modern Family, of course you'd have to use a moment from the show when you have big news to share.

A favorite moment in the show took place when Mitch and Cam (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet) were having dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with their adopted daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), and their sister, Gloria (Sofía Vergara). In the scene, Vergara encourages Lily to try the Pho to connect with her family roots because "she's Vietnamese."

Keep ReadingShow less