One in 10 parents skip meals to afford food for their children, survey finds

More than half of parents have in the past cut down spending on household and medical bills, loan repayments and transport to ensure they could afford food, a new survey has found.

The research, conducted by Amárach on behalf of Barnardos Ireland and Aldi, questioned a nationally representative sample of 1,130 adults in January on the prevalence and impact of food poverty in Ireland.

According to the findings, 10 per cent of parents and those looking after children skip meals in an average week in order to feed the children in their care.

This increases to almost 30 per cent when including those who report doing so “occasionally”.

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Some 19 per cent of those looking after children said they have skipped meals themselves or reduced portion size, so their family and children have enough to eat, with the number increasing to 40 per cent for those not working.

More than half, or 51 per cent, of parents stated they have in the past cut down spending in other essential areas, such as electricity or medical bills, with this proportion rising to almost two-thirds (62 per cent) among those not working.

The survey also found that one quarter of parents often worry about not being able to provide food for their children.

Of those who worry, the biggest reason behind their concerns about providing food was rising costs and pressure on household finances.

In the study, parents who said they were concerned about affording food described themselves as feeling “stressed” (36 per cent), “worried about the future” (33 per cent), and “guilty” (30 per cent), about their current situation.

Suzanne Connolly, chief executive of Barnardos, said the charity sees "far too many families, often one parent families, deprived of access to fundamental life essentials such as food and heat".

“Parents tell us of the very difficult decisions they are forced to make to keep their family fed, by either going without a meal themselves, or needing to turn off their heating in order to buy food - with one respondent saying they feel like a failure,” she said.

“Access to affordable nutritious food is key to a child’s development and has a lifelong positive impact on a child.”

Niall O’Connor, group managing director of Aldi Ireland, added: “With two thirds of people spending up to half of their income on food costs, our role in keeping prices low and affordable becomes even more important. The top priority for most families this year will be managing their household budgets in the face of rising living costs.”