Family life on a pound a week / By Mrs. Pember Reeves.

  • Magdalene Stuart Reeves
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Family life on a pound a week / By Mrs. Pember Reeves. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    but fairly light, dry rooms, in place of Mrs. F’s terrible little abode. She buys cheaper bread and flour, and spends but 1s. a week a head on food. She has lost no children, whereas Mrs. F has lost five. It is not to be supposed that the surviving children of Mrs. F, or the children of Mrs. G are robust and strong. Poverty has killed Mrs. F’s five weakest children and drained the vitality of her four stronger ones. Poverty has prevented any of Mrs. G’s children from being strong. The malnutrition of school children, which was so con- spicuously mentioned in the published report of Sir George New- man, Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education, seems to be explained by these budgets. The idea that mothers who have to feed man, woman and children on ts. a head a week can do anything else than underfeed them must be abandoned. But it is also evident that the mothers who in desperation try economizing in rent in order to feed better are doing unwisely. The question of food values is much discussed in connection with ignorance and extravagance on the part of the poor. It is possible, of course, that a shilling, or elevenpence farthing might be laid out to better advantage on a week’s food than is done in the foregoing budgets. But superior food value generally means longer cooking— more utensils—more wholesome air and storage conveniences than can be commanded by these women. To take porridge as an instance. When well cooked for an hour and eaten with milk and sugar, most children would find it delicious and wholesome. But when the re- mainder of last night’s pennyworth of gas is all that can be allowed for its cooking, when the pot is the same as that in which fish or potatoes or meat are cooked, when it has to be eaten half raw with- out milk and with but a hint of sugar, the children loathe it. They eat bread and dripping with relish. No cooking is required there, for which the weary, harassed mother is only too thankful—so they almost live on bread and dripping. A normal menu for a family of seven persons living on £1 a week is as follows :— Breakfast for seven persons. Pitot; ¥ oz. dripping or margarine; 7¢ oz.-tea;'% Oz. sugar ; +d. worth tinned milk. Dinners. Sunday, 3 lb. meat ; 3 lb. potatoes; 1 cabbage. Monday, any meat left from Sunday, with suet pudding. The father on weekdays taking a chop or other food with him to work. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, suet pudding, with treacle or sugar, or gravy and potatoes. Wednesday, 1 Ib. meat and potatoes stewed with onions. Tea for seven persons. 1 loaf; 1 oz. dripping or margarine ; 4 oz. tea; % OZ. sugar; 4d. worth of tinned milk ; Saturday evening may see a rasher or a bloater for the man’s tea.
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