Gwyneth Paltrow has given up on the Food Bank Challenge she was set after just four days. The 42-year-old actress admitted she had lasted four days before caving to buy chicken, fresh vegetables and a pack of liquorice. Paltrow was set the challenge by chef Mario Batali to raise awareness for New York City Food Bank. Paltrow's challenge was to buy enough food on $29, the amount families living on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are given, to last a week.

Gwyneth PlatrowGwyneth Paltrow managed 4 days of the Food Bank Challenge.

Read More: Gwyneth Paltrow Will Live On Food Stamps (Or Equivalent) For A Week.

Paltrow posted a photograph on Twitter of the food she had acquired for the week. Her selection included: a dozen eggs, a package of tortillas, an ear of corn, a sweet potato, an avocado, garlic, an onion, a tomato, lettuce, a pepper and bags of black beans, frozen peas, brown rice, kale and a number of limes. 

Paltrow was mocked by a number of social media users, not only for seemingly 'playing at being poor' but also for her selection of perishable goods. Batali immediately jumped to her defence, claiming Paltrow would "actually do it", unlike the Twitter trolls. 

Ironically, Paltrow did fail the challenge. Paltrow updated her fans on her lifestyle website GOOP

"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 liquorice)," Paltrow wrote on her blog. "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."

Paltrow continued by diverting the subject away from the issue of food banks to the connected topic of equal pay.