41% of parents ‘reduced food intake to provide for kids’

The number of parents reducing their food intake to ensure their children have enough to eat has increased by 12% since last year, according to Barnardos.

It found that 41% of parents have said they had skipped meals or reduced portion sizes to enable their children to have food.

The survey, carried out by Coyne Research, found that food insecurity in families with children is worsening.

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.

Almost one quarter (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.

Some 21% of families have had to cut back on children’s activities to afford food.

Worry over having enough food

Cost-of-living pressures have resulted parents worrying about their ability to provide their children with sufficient food.

A total of 45% of parents are either always or sometimes worried about having enough food for the family, according to the annual Barnardos and ALDI Ireland Food Insecurity Research.

This is slightly up on last year (42%), but has more than doubled since January 2022 (19%).

Of the parents who are worried, half said they were “stressed”, more than a quarter (26%) said they feel “guilty” and 17% are afraid to ask for help.

The survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults also shows parents are trying to provide healthy eating options.

Almost nine in ten (88%) said that healthy or nutritious food is important in their decision-making (up from 81% a year ago).

More than three-quarters (76%) of parents said that their family always or mostly eat a main daily meal together, and more than nine in ten parents (92%) aim to have mostly home cooked meals.

When it comes to food preparation, five in six said they mostly cook meals from scratch (83%) and a similar number (82%) mostly or always include fruit or vegetables in their meals.

A total of 94% of parents said they aim to give their children fresh fruit and vegetables everyday.

Barnardos said more needs to be done to guarantee no family struggles to have access to sufficient nutritious food.

It has suggested extending the hot school meals programme to secondary schools; a programme for out of terms meals for children who depend on them during the school terms and increasing targeted supports in Budget 2025.