Gwyneth Paltrow has said her “perspective has been forever altered” after she managed to last only four days of a week-long challenge to live on around £16.

The actress was given around 29 US dollars, which is the amount people get in food stamps as part of an American government welfare programme, to promote a New York food bank.

Writing on her lifestyle website Goop, she said she actually spent around 24 US dollars (£16) because “things like avocados and limes are cheap in Southern California”.

Gwyneth Paltrow
(Kin Cheung/AP)

She said: “As I suspected, we only made it through about four days, when I personally broke and had some chicken and fresh vegetables (and in full transparency, half a bag of black licorice). My perspective has been forever altered by how difficult it was to eat wholesome, nutritious food on that budget, even for just a few days – a challenge that 47 million Americans face every day, week, and year.”

Gwyneth, who said her performance was worth “a C-minus”, said: “I’m not suggesting everyone eat organic food from some high horse in the sky. I’m saying everyone should be able to afford fresh, real food.”