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A huge number of Irish adults are worried about not having enough money to buy food

A full third of Irish parents with young children are concerned about feeding their family.

FOOD POVERTY IS very much a problem for Irish adults currently.

Over a fifth (22%) of Irish men and women over-18 are worried about the amount of money they have to buy food, and the figure jumps to 33% for those with children of primary-school age.

This equates to over three quarters of a million Irish adults (778,000 people) being concerned about the money they have available to buy food.

The data comes from a new survey regarding food poverty in Ireland run by Kelloggs, which questioned 3,011 Irish adults and 408 teachers nationwide.

53% of teachers interviewed for the survey, titled Is The Food Divide Getting Bigger, said they have seen evidence of children arriving at school hungry at least once a week.

Worse still, a full 77% said they have seen incidences of children coming to school hungry increase in the last 12 months.

food Kelloggs Kelloggs

The report’s chief conclusion is that the economic recovery is leaving those on lower incomes behind.

“More widespread availability of breakfast clubs is needed as they are a proven way to help tackle the issue of food poverty,” said June Tinsley of Barnardos, commenting on the survey’s findings regarding children being hungry at school.

Arriving to school hungry affects children’s behaviour and mood impacting on their ability to learn and enjoy interactions with classmates and teachers.

“The overall trend in expenditure on food has reduced since 2008, from a high of €7.95 billion, reflecting the fact that many people have suffered income losses and quite simply do not have as much money to spend on food or anything else for that matter,” says economist Jim Power.

The report contains several recommendations as regards what’s to be done to combat food poverty, including:

  • greater support for food banks and local charities
  • further funding for school meals programmes
  • greater emphasis on food education and teaching cooking skills

Read: This man changed careers for a business that gives 100% of its profits to charity

Read: Zero-hour contracts: What companies use them and what’s being done about it?

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    Mute Seán Ó Briain
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    Jun 26th 2021, 10:09 PM

    There’s a brilliant documentary on Netflix called My Octopus Teacher. It’s absolutely brilliant, definitely worth a watch.

    191
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    Mute Floating Crowbar
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    Jun 27th 2021, 10:24 PM

    @Seán Ó Briain: yawn – about a guy beyond obsessed with an octopus – where he got the money to make the documentary! I would love to know.

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    Mute Fandandi
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    Jun 26th 2021, 10:08 PM

    Finally, my Saturday night can begin

    69
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    Mute William Tallon
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    Jun 27th 2021, 1:04 AM

    What’s in it for the squid? What’s the ‘squid pro quo’ as it were…

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Jun 26th 2021, 10:29 PM

    They’re very smart: https://youtu.be/8-E7EpQ9PFs

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    Mute Lydia
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    Jun 26th 2021, 11:03 PM

    @David Jordan: They are also delicious.

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    Mute Jakie McLean
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    Jun 26th 2021, 11:25 PM

    @Lydia: one of the reasons we should leave anything out there in the great big universe alone. We are smart enough but we could also be very delicious.

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    Mute To Mt
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    Jun 27th 2021, 12:23 AM

    @David Jordan: they’re unsociable creatures and its believed if they were sociable they could possibly be smarter than humans.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jun 27th 2021, 12:52 AM

    @To Mt: jayus the thoughts of a squid doing a heart transplant doesn’t bear thinking about.

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    Mute Colm Walsh
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    Jun 27th 2021, 2:44 AM

    @To Mt: aaaaah you’re squidding me…

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    Mute James Fox
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    Jun 26th 2021, 11:25 PM

    Thought it was a quiz about spuds when I saw the headline

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Jun 27th 2021, 12:43 AM

    Huh, I know WAY more than I realised…… 9/10

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    Mute pkunzip doom2.zip
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    Jun 26th 2021, 11:47 PM

    10 out of 10

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    Mute Fergal O'Hagan
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    Jun 27th 2021, 12:58 AM

    This was Squidworth my time!

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    Mute Sean O'Donovan
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    Jun 27th 2021, 11:28 AM

    Thanks Nicky – this quiz had me laughing out loud!

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    Mute Joe Soap
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    Jun 27th 2021, 4:00 PM

    I thought it said how much to you know about the “squits”? Quite a lot as it happens.

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