Smith family, from North Berwick, take on food challenge

Billie Smith, 29, her husband David, 34, and their two sons Finlay, five, and Forrest, two, all from Phillimore Square in North Berwick, started the challenge last Monday and will complete it on May 5.

The couple are heavily involved in North Berwick Playgroup and the Kindness Co-operative at North Berwick Community Centre. They have previously dropped off food and clothing donations.

Knowing that others are struggling every day, the couple wanted to do something to help.

The Smith family are living on a food budget of £120 for the next month, £30 a week

David said: “We spoke to people at the foodbank and asked what sort of amount people lived on and they said that, after bills and utilities, families live on about £30-35 a week, and they’re a similar size to us. It then gave Billie an idea.

“We don’t want to sit behind a computer screen and ask for donations direct – we want to experience it for ourselves and be humbled by it.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of the centre and the fact there is one with a foodbank in North Berwick. They think North Berwick is a well-off town but it’s got different levels of families with different levels of money.

“We both come from low-income families. Billie’s mum told us a story of a time she had to choose between buying potatoes or bread – luckily the potatoes were on offer so she was able to buy both but she walked home in tears.

“We are not going to be living in absolute poverty, we just want to raise awareness of people who live like this every day.”

Billie and David need to spend no more than about £4.28 per day: an average of £1.41 for each breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks – about £30 a week.

David said that if Billie had not set up her business, The Green Clean Lady, and he was furloughed from his job at a bank, they would have “maybe been very close to that line and needed to use the foodbank”.

They have planned meals to make the most of the food they buy and reduce waste; they will also look for reduced and marked down items.

A picture of their first food shop

David said: “We sometimes get a Chinese takeaway on a Sunday and that comes to £33 for the four of us, or if we go to a cafe we can spend £9-15 on drinks and snacks for us all, so it puts it into perspective.

“We’ve got stuck into it as best we can; we’re looking forward to doing it. We will struggle with meal ideas halfway through but we don’t want it to be a breeze.

“The foodbank have offered to give us a food parcel. We don’t want to take one away from someone who needs it but we have decided to donate the value of it back from our own money and show people what one of these consists of.”

The family hoped to raise £500 but topped £750 before the challenge even began. They have now increased their fundraising target for the Kindness Co-operative to £2,000 after reaching an amazing £1,440.

They are tracking their progress at facebook.com/intheirshoes1. Donate at gofundme.com/f/in-their-shoes-the-smiths

Katie Nevans, community development officer from the Connected Communities team at the community centre, said: “The Kindness Co-operative was set up in North Berwick Community Centre six years ago as a response to the financial hardship encountered by local residents when the benefits system changed.

“When Covid hit, the North Berwick Trust gave us money to expand the small store and create a much-needed local support to provide food assistance throughout lockdown and beyond.

“The funding initiative that the Smith family are doing is nothing short of amazing. To put yourself in the shoes of others to educate yourself on hardship isn’t an easy thing to do.

“They are also raising the awareness of the local facility, which we hope will encourage others in difficulty to reach out when they need help.”