PARENTS SKIP MEALS SO THE KIDS CAN EAT
Food insecurity in affected families ‘worsening’
THE cost-of-living crisis is continuing to impact families with parents skipping meals so their children can eat.
Shocking admissions that mums and dads cannot afford to feed themselves was revealed yesterday in a joint research document by Barnardos and Aldi.
Their findings show 41% parents said they had skipped meals or reduced portion sizes so their children would have enough to eat, an increase of 12% since last year.
Other key results include almost one quarter of parents (24%) have had to borrow money to feed a child in the last year, up from 16% in
October 2022, and 11% in January 2022. And 21% of families have had to cut back on children’s activities to afford food.
A spokesperson for the report said: “The latest annual Barnardos and Aldi Ireland Food Insecurity Research found insecurity in families with children is worsening.
“An increasingly large proportion of children are living in homes where parents are cutting back or going without meals themselves to feed their children.
“They are cutting down on essentials such as clothing, electricity, and heat in order to make sure enough food is on their table and borrowing or resorting to food banks to provide themselves and their children with sufficient food. The research shows that even more parents are cutting back on their own food, borrowing money for food, relying on food banks and cutting back on spending on other household activities, including clothing, household bills, medical costs and children’s activities.”
Barnardos said it is calling on the Government to roll out a hot school meals programme within schools and extending it to secondary and also providing meals out of term.
Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said: “Parents are being faced with difficult decisions to make for their families more frequently than ever.
“A lack of nutritious meals has an impact on the emotional and mental well-being of both child and parent for a long to time to come. Because childhood lasts a lifetime.”