Cork students coming to school hungry every day as parents struggle to make ends meet

“There are students who come to school hungry every day. There’s no reason why that suddenly stops now.”

This is according to the principal at Deis school Coláiste Éamann Rís, Aaron Wolfe, who was speaking to The Echo with the summer break now well underway.

The volunteer co-ordinator at Cork Penny Dinners, Caitríona Twomey, said the charity service is already seeing an increase in families seeking support during the school holidays.

“We have a rise in numbers in people ringing asking for our help,” Ms Twomey said.

“It’s very difficult for families with the increase in the cost of living.”

Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Tanya Ward, has said that now with schools closed, the risk of what she described as “holiday hunger” increases.

“The crippling worry for parents and children becomes: ‘Where will the next hot meal come from?’”

The Children’s Rights Alliance has highlighted the ongoing issue of holiday hunger during the academic break, stating that 51,000 children and young people did not have access to a weekly roast dinner last year.

Food Poverty

“Food poverty is a thing,” Mr Wolfe said. “We have families that go to food banks, [and] parents are just struggling to make ends meet.

“The system is broken, and if education is broken, our future is broken. 21st century Ireland should not need food banks, it’s a damning legacy for our Government,” he added.

“It’s the squeezed middle families we’re talking about too, the ones who have jobs and still cannot afford to pay.

“Schools are already expanding beyond their function,” he said.

“We’re overworked. Schools are there for teaching and learning, but that’s been corrupted.

“The Government has to stop farming out things to us. This is a Government problem.”

Caitríona Twomey said Cork Penny Dinners has “a lot of families who may have been in dire straits for quite awhile and some for only a few days”.

“But we try to support them as best we can. The holidays always mean an increase in spending for the home, and it’s very hard for parents to meet that demand,” Ms Twomey added.

“It’s difficult for people [when] they have a budget one week and it increases the next. They try to level out those costs during the summer, but then they’re straight back into back-to-school. They don’t get much of a break financially. It doesn’t go far enough,” she added.

With rolling investments seen over the last number of budgets into preventing food poverty amongst school children, some 265,423 children have received a hot meal during the school term to date.

Support

The Children’s Rights Alliance is calling for the introduction of a pilot programme with funding of €1m to explore how to leverage existing community infrastructures to reach and support children most in need.

The organisation highlighted the urgent need for an initiative to help tackle holiday hunger at an event held recently, which focused on the prevailing issue of food poverty across the country.

Chief executive Tanya Ward said: “Access to hot nutritious food is a basic fundamental need. The fact that we are seeing increased demand for food supports every holiday period is almost incomprehensible.

“No child should have to worry about where their next meal will come from. The cost-of-living crisis has compounded existing food poverty to a point where more and more families are being pushed below the breadline.

“The Government has the opportunity in Budget 2025 to leverage the success of the Hot School Meals Programme, so that children get access to the food they need year-round.”