Parents in Cork going without meals so their children can eat

Parents who never thought they would need to ask for help from a charity are reaching out to Barnardos for support, a Cork project leader says.

Munster statistics provided to The Echo by Barnardos children’s charity showed that 35% of parents in Munster said they skipped meals or reduced portion size so their children would have enough to eat, and 25% felt at some point they didn’t have enough food to feed their children.

Inequality

Aoife Farrell, project leader at Barnardos in Cork, told The Echo: “The cost of living crisis has a universal impact on all of us, but we’re working in the space where this kind of financial crisis is intersecting with loads of areas of disadvantage and adversity.

“Inequality is really widening; parents borrowing money in real crisis moments, rent arrears for example.

“Our report showed parents going without food themselves in order to meet their children’s needs, there is huge levels of stress for these parents. Many are overwhelmed, and this kind of financial crisis can lead to mental health difficulties, feeling a sense of shame and isolation.

“Parents worry so much about their children’s futures. They want to be able to give them the best childhood they can, they’re often aspiring to create better conditions than they had themselves growing up, and it’s a really sad space for parents to be in when they’re struggling to do that – it makes all of the other day to day tasks of parenting a lot harder to do.”

Impacts

Ms Farrell said that they are seeing more and more people in need of their services: “We would have been used to certain pockets of socio-economic disadvantage, some areas where it was more prevalent, but we are seeing huge impacts now on working parents.

“People whose incomes are low or their employment is tenuous, they are in no way able to keep up with the cost of living, especially single parents.

“We’ve seen situations also where mothers and children trying to escape an experience of domestic abuse are having to reach out for food bank support, they can be in very challenging situations with bills not paid, their electricity cut off – many did not ever imagine that this might be a phone call they’d have to make, to seek food from a charity.”

She added: “We’re delighted we can be there for them, but it’s a bit of a sticking plaster in the grand scheme of things. Barnardos are really advocating for more targeted supports from the government for the most vulnerable.”