With the blessings of luck and a good bit of hard work, presently, I am not faced with having to answer this question, although I can tell you my answer would be.. f*@k the bank, who wants a takeaway !!!!
With that said, I know we are lucky. So many people today are living in an Ireland were what was once seen as a daily routine by the masses of stopping in a shop for a takeaway coffee and a breakfast roll on the way to work is now a very distant memory, both the coffee and the work is gone ! replaced with desperation.
Takeaway coffee is now a luxury that few can afford… but with the banks, utility companies and the government continually raising their rates and taxes, basic food items are fast becoming something that few can afford also. The real cost of living in this country is becoming more and more expensive as the weeks and months go by. The basic act of feeding yourself and your dependants is under serious threat. More and more people are reaching breaking point; more and more people are turning to the likes of LIDL and ALDI so as to make what little money they have last longer.
Gone are the days of shopping in Marks & Sparks or even Superquinn for that matter, gone are the days of only buying “branded” products – its own label all the way now.
On Friday last I went to ALDI to buy lunch for myself and two colleagues (it was my turn) I bought a pack of soft rolls, packet of cheese, some pâté and a big bag of cheese & onion crisps (6 packets included) for the grand total of €3.76. Happy with my purchases I skipped back to the office where myself and my colleagues dinned like Kings!... but did we really?
You see as good as the meal was, and it was good, we all had enough to make us feel full and happy, not one of us thought about the food from a healthy eating aspect. Like everything else that we held so close to our hearts during the “good” years, the healthy eating is gone and in its place is budget foods from budget stores. The gyms are gone, unless you work for a semi-state or bank, the bottles of water are gone – long live tap water, (until they tax it !!), the “go-large” meal deal on a McD’s has been replaced with the “euro-saver menu” and even in the local chipper, the days of looking at the bright menu board are gone, now we look in the window for that days special offer – and only if we’re feeling flush and can justify buying a takeaway.
As I stated above, €3.76 was able to feed 3 adults for lunch which is not too bad from our point of view, we’re working and although money is tight, we can take turns during the week and spend less than a fiver “buying” lunch (come on guys, it’s on me !) but we are lucky… there are people today in Ireland who don’t have even a fiver to feed themselves…
These people are not in Africa, their photo is not on GOAL or Concerns websites and TV adverts, they are not being held up as the reason for an AID concert, there is no concert for these people, no TV adverts, no international appeal, nothing is said…
These people are in Ireland, they are our neighbours, they are our friends, and our families.
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