7 photos that reveal what families eat in one week
In a new series of photos, families worldwide pose with one week’s food supply.
How much food does your household go through in a week? What are your go-to family meals? And how much do you spend on food? You can get a glimpse of how others answered these questions in Oxfam’s new photo series, which depicts people from around the globe with one week’s food supply for their families.
Building on an idea that originated with 2005′s Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, the new images feel especially timely now, when reports about half of the world’s food going to waste vie for space with news about rising global food prices. According to a recent article accompanying some of the photos in the UK Independent, “There is deep injustice in the way food is grown and distributed … the world’s poorest people spend 50-90 percent of their income on food, compared with just 10-15 percent in developed countries.”
As you can probably guess, the families’ diets differ depending on where they live. But if if there’s one common thread that links these images, it’s that we all have to eat. We all face challenges and successes when it comes to feeding our families. And we can all help to make the food system fairer for everyone.
So check out seven highlights below. Then tell us in the comments: What does your week’s food supply look like? How does your family measure up?
Shahveller, Azerbaijan
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Photo: David Levene/Oxfam
Mirza Bakhishov, 47, his wife, Zarkhara, 37, and two sons, Khasay, 18 and Elchin, 15, own a small plot of land where they grow cotton and wheat as well as animal feed. “Our small cattle and poultry [are] everything for us. All our income and livelihood is dependent on them,” said Bakhishov.
Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
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Photo: Abir Abdullah/Oxfam
Selvern, 70, far right, and her daughters have been members of Oxfam’s local dairy cooperative for four years. Her youngest daughter Sukitha, second from right, works at the cooperative and is also trained as a vet. Selvern gets up at 5:30 every morning to help her daughters milk their cows; she sends most of the milk to the co-op with Sukitha and uses the remainder to make cream and ghee for the family.
Mecha, Ethiopia
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Photo: Tom Pietrasik/Oxfam
A week’s food supply for Wubalem Shiferaw, her husband Tsega, and 4-year-old daughter Rekebki includes flour, vegetable oil, and a paste of spices called berbere. Tsega works as a tailor, while Wubalem follows a long local tradition and supplements her income with honey production. An Oxfam-supported cooperative helped Wubalem make the transition to modern beekeeping methods, which produce greater yields.
Yegeghus, Armenia
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Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos
The Josephyan family from with their weekly food supply, which includes wheat flour, dried split peas, sugar, and cooking oil. The family supplements their diet with eggs laid by their chickens and wild greens from the fields.
London, UK
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Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam
Ian Kerr, 30, with his family and a week’s food supplied by a charity food bank. Ian left his job to become a full-time carer to his disabled son Jay-J, 12. Also pictured are his daughter Lillian, 5, and mother-in-law Linda, 61. Kerr says the family’s favorite food is spaghetti Bolognese, but Lillian says her favorite is Jaffa Cakes.
Kaftarkhana, Tajikistan
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Photo: Andy Hall/Oxfam
BiBi-Faiz Miralieba and her family, from left to right: son Siyoushi, 11, niece Gulnoya Shdova, 14, and children Jomakhon, 6, Shodmon, 9, and Jamila,13. Like many women in rural areas of Tajikistan, Miralieba is now the head of her household as her husband has migrated to Russia to find work.
Gutu, Zimbabwe
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Photo: Annie Bungeroth/Oxfam
Ipaishe Masvingise and her family with their food for the week, which includes grains and groundnuts as well as fruits like pawpaw and oranges. Masvingise, a farmer, said she sells extra grain from her harvests to pay for school fees and medical costs, and to support members of her extended family who don’t own their own land.
Beautiful Pictures
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towering red dust storm gathers over the ocean, ahead of a cyclone approaching Onslow, West Australia, on January 9. The remarkable photo was captured by tug boat worker Brett Martin, 25 nautical miles from the town of Onslow. (AFP)
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Killer whales surface through a breathing hole on January 9. The creatures were trapped under sea ice in Canada's Hudson Bay. Up to a dozen whales were feared to be stuck, however winds later pushed the ice away from the coast. (Reuters)
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Snowfall at the ruins of the Roman Temple of Bacchus in the historic town of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon on January 10. An unusual chill swept across the Middle East recently, bringing heavy snow and freezing conditions in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Syria and Palestine. The weather has claimed at least 17 lives across the region (Reuters)
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Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren clutch each other as they seek refuge under a jetty on January 4 after wildfires consumed their home in Dunalley, Tasmania. The photo was taken by their grandfather, Tim Holmes. The family survived but their house, which Mr Holmes built himself, was destroyed. (Sky)
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A twilight view of London from the top of the Shard, the tallest building in western Europe. The skyscraper, which is 1,013ft tall, opens to the public on February 1. Visitors will be able to reach the 72nd floor of the 78 floor building. (Reuters)
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A 'lion' caused panic in Virginia, America when it was spotted loose on the streets. When police investigated it turned out to be 'Charles the Monarch' - a labradoodle whose fur had been shaved to look like a lion (SWNS)
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Unexplained readings from the Cassini probe, which orbits Saturn, hint that blocks of ice might bob on the surface of the lakes of liquid methane on Titan. NASA believes that life could lurk in the ice - but it would be very different from life on Earth as the lakes are composed entirely of liquid ethane and methane. (NASA)
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Andrejus Rascinski, aged nine, from Birmingham, waits to perform in the under-14s competition at the European Elvis Championships on January 6. Over 70 Elvis impersonators, decked in sequins and well-groomed sideburns, flocked to Birmingham to take part in the competition. (PA)
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Photographer Reinhard Dirscherl took this extraordinary snap of a whale shark, which looks like it is about to eat a diver in Indonesia. The 47,000lb shark is not dangerous to humans, instead preferring to snack on plankton (Caters)
