A new study published today from Crosscare, St Vincent de Paul and Combat Poverty Agency says that food-poverty has become a growing problem in Ireland.
It was claimed the report "heralds a new awareness about the importance of food and nutrition from a low-income perspective".
According to the study, low-income social groups are particularly vulnerable to food-poverty. Barriers to dietary improvement range from knowledge and skills in relation to food to financial resources and physical access.
The study suggests that "growing public-policy awareness of food and nutrition should incorporate specific policies and programmes which focus on low-income groups, especially families, older people, the homeless and ethnic minorities".
It also calls for food poverty to be made "a cross-cutting issue under the National Anti-Poverty Strategy".