Families worry over food bills

FAMILIES with young children are more likely to feel the pressure over money for food.

In Munster, food poverty is still a harsh reality with 22% of adults worried over the amount of money they have to spend on food.

Families with primary school children are more likely to feel the pressure with a third, 33% concerned over their food budget.

A report by Kellogg’s, ‘Is the food divide getting bigger’ which reveals that the food poverty rate among lowest income households is as high as 11 % while only 4 % of highest income groups cite food poverty as an issue.

Teachers are also seeing the impact of food poverty in their schools with 53 of those surveyed, noticing children arriving at school hungry at least once a week.

More shockingly, 77 % of teachers said, the number of children coming to school hungry has increased in the last 12 months.

Half of the teachers surveyed also report that 36 % of parents have mentioned concerns over their ability to make their food budget stretch to the end of the week, while 20 % struggle to fund their family food budget over the weekend.

One in five households with children has even had to change their eating habits due to financial constraints.

June Tinsley of Barnardos said they see parents make sacrafices by going without a meal so their children can be fed.