Families spending one-third of their income to afford a balanced diet
Households on a low-income tend to eat less well, which can contribute to health complications. File picture
Families on benefits need to spend up to one-third of their income in order to afford a balanced diet, new research has revealed.
New research by Safefood has highlighted the challenges facing families on low incomes in ensuring they eat a healthy, balanced meal while also meeting additional household expenses.
Typically, households on a low-income tend to eat less well, which can contribute to health complications.
According to the findings, households dependent on social welfare spent up to 12% more of their income on food than those where one adult was in employment.
Foods costs were highest for a household on low income with two parents and two children, where the older child was in secondary school.
In these circumstances, the food cost was found to be 22% higher than a similar household with younger children.
The research found the cost of eating a healthy, balanced diet for a family of four living on social welfare with two adults and two children in primary and secondary school was €169 per week or 35% of their overall income.
For the same family set-up with an adult earning a minimum wage, the costs were found to be 28% of their take-home income.
For a single parent living on benefits with two children in pre-school and primary school, the cost of a healthy food basket was found to be 29% of their household income.
In comparison, the most recent Central Statistics Office (CSO) data revealed the average spend per household on food was 14.7% of their income.
Speaking on the findings, Robert Thornton, senior research and policy officer with Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice said: “This research shines a light on the challenge of balancing the cost of a healthy food against other needs when on a low income.
Joana da Silva, chief specialist in nutrition said that the findings showed the continuing challenges of families on low incomes in affording healthy food.
She said the report identifies the cost of a minimum but an acceptable standard that would allow families “to live a life with dignity”.
“The report is based on working with members of the public to reach agreement on the minimum needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life.
“Food spending is the flexible element of the household budget and people often fill up on cheap food that’s nutritionally poor when prioritising other bills that need to be paid.”
