ECHO reporter Jack Monroe has landed a prestigious book deal to showcase her tips on frugal, healthy food and has been given a prestigious award.

Jack, 25, started working for the Echo in February, after applying for more than 300 jobs.

She writes an online blog, A Girl Called Jack, reporting on local politics from a single mum’s point of view as she battled financial difficulties.

Desperate for a solution to rent arrears and utility bills, she put everything in her home up for sale in an open house sale to try to clear the debts, and raised enough money to move to a smaller flat with a lower rent.

Following the house sale, she started to write about cheap meals that she and her son, Jonny, who is now three, were surviving on.

The blog became a hit among struggling families, and caught the attention of celebrated food writer, Xanthe Clay, who featured her story in the Daily Telegraph. Shortly afterwards, Jack was inundated with inquiries from publishers, with offers of advances to produce a recipe book based on her principles of frugal, healthy cooking.

Last week, prestigious cookery publishers Michael Joseph, part of the Penguin group, announced it planned to publish her book in March 2014.

She said: “People get in touch every day to say how helpful they find my blog in their own desperate situations. Given the year I’ve had, I’m glad something good has come out of it.” Jack has appeared on BBC Breakfast to talk about her book and this week she was invited to the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards, presented at the famous Piccadilly store.

She won the judges’ choice award for her online blog, www.agirlcalledjack.com and was presented with a plaque by Claudia Winkleman.

Jack had no idea she had been nominated for an award until they called her name. She will be donating some of the profits from her book to Child Poverty Action Group, Oxfam, and local community projects like the Storehouse.