Roughly 200,000 people in Ireland, including 60,000 children, do not have access to nutritious food, while industry players and retailers here have a "disappointing" lack of awareness on the issue, an official from the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) told ireland.com.
A conference on food poverty held today, which focused directly on the deficiencies in corporate social responsibility, did not yield as much progress as it should have, said Ms Audrey Dean, a national social policy officer.
"Being food poor means not being able to afford and access a nutritionally adequate diet. It means that in food poor households social and cultural behaviour is compromised as people cannot eat, shop for, provide or exchange food in ways that are viewed as normal in Irish society," according to a report commissioned by SVP, Crosscare and the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA).
"Many people did not really know this problem existed until today," said Ms Dean, adding that the discussion had at least brought the issue to the forefront. Too often the attitude is that "the problem belongs to somebody else".
The issue of food poverty needs leadership in the form of a high-level group made up of major corporate players and retailers, she said. Food poverty also needs Cabinet-level attention.
Food poverty affects a huge amount of decisions people and households make on their purchasing decisions, an official from the CPA said.
The condition can adversely affect "the choice and quantity of food you can afford to buy, the share of household budget that goes on food, the types of food you can access in your local shops, access to the shops and how you transport your shopping," said Mr Jim Walsh.
It also negatively affects the types of food you cook. "You may know what is healthy but deciding what eat to is influenced by social norms, access to the food, low income, your own skills gaps in dietary knowledge and know how," he added.
"There are now a number of what are virtually "food deserts" appearing in large urban disadvantaged areas around Ireland," said Mr Walsh. "Retail developments have, in many instances, created great difficulties for residents in accessing affordable and good quality food without involving significant and costly travel."
Mr Walsh said a willingness shown from the private and public sectors to work together on alleviating the adverse implications of food poverty was a positive achievement from the conference.