Some families spend a third of household income on basic healthy foods, Safefood research finds

Families struggling in the face of the cost-of-living crisis are paying a third of their household income on the most basic of healthy foods, according to research from Safefood.

The study, based on research conducted every two years, found that food prices are now higher than they were in 2014, when the series of surveys began – the first time a spike in prices has been recorded.

It also suggests that households with teenagers are spending more than double what households with younger children have to spend on foods considered to be healthy.

The contents of the food baskets in the Safefood survey were based on menus put together by the households, with those involved asked to select an acceptable food basket in terms of taste and menu choices, while also meeting the social needs of a household, for example, hosting visitors or special occasions like birthdays.

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The food baskets were reviewed by nutritionists to ensure they met the nutritional guidelines of the food pyramid and then price-checked accordingly.

For a two-parent household who rely on State benefits with two children, one in primary and one in secondary school, their weekly food shop is €150 or 32 per cent of their income. If this same household is in a rural area, the cost increases to €162 every week.

“For all families with children, food is the largest household cost, and this has been exacerbated by the rises we’ve seen in inflation in the past 12 months,” said Safefood’s director of nutrition, Dr Aileen McGloin.

She noted the dramatic increases in staples including milk, butter and eggs which have climbed in price by 24 per cent, 18.9 per cent and 18.3 per cent respectively since April 2022.

“We know from the research that food is often the flexible part of the household budget and gets sacrificed when other bills need to be met,” Dr McGloin said.

Separately, the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has highlighted the ongoing hardship caused by high energy prices with a significant increase in the numbers making contact looking for support.

Last year there was a 40 per cent increase in requests for assistance related to energy, and in the first quarter of this year energy requests increased by about a further 50 per cent against the same period last year.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, SVP research and policy officer Issy Petrie said the charity was supporting many households who were facing multiple bills that they could not clear before the next one came through.

The situation continues to be extreme for prepay customers, who face self-disconnection when there is simply no more money to feed the meter.

“People are forced to make strategic choices between essentials, food through the week, or energy through the week,” she said. “No one should be faced with that dilemma. This takes its toll on people’s emotional, mental and physical health, and members see that distress when they are assisting people.”

She stressed that while winter was over “we are still facing an energy price, and energy poverty, crisis”.

She said “ongoing energy costs will continue to be unaffordable for many throughout summer, and we need to enter next winter having learned lessons from this year. We also need to make sure our longer term strategies are adequate in the face of ongoing higher prices, higher levels of energy deprivation and a rapidly changing energy landscape”.

The SVP called for social protection rates to be kept in line with inflation and highlighted “a severely devalued fuel allowance with the rate frozen”.

It also highlighted the need for “targeted action on energy prices through a Government-subsidised social tariff, to provide a discounted energy tariff for households on means-tested social welfare payments”.

It suggested the creation of new community energy advisers to provide one-to-one support for people to navigate the energy market, access financial supports, provide energy efficiency advice and easy measures at home, and access retrofitting grants.