Britian's poorest going hungry: Are we heading the same way?

mikemac1

Beaner1 wrote: »

CSO.ie

Beaner1 wrote: »

Food has never been cheaper.
Source: CSO

Beaner1 wrote: »

CSO.ie

Beaner1 wrote: »

CSO.ie
Aldi.ie

Better effort required, 4/10

steddyeddy

mikemac1 wrote: »

Better effort required, 4/10

You're being generous.

suicide_circus

steddyeddy wrote: »

It is when you provide an opinion which demeans a group of people without giving evidence.

In this country if you have a child, you receive child benefit payments. These are payments to help people to pay for the costs associated with caring for a child. The number 1 most essential of these costs is feeding the child, nothing is more important. Nothing. Child benefit is €130 per month (€135 from 1st Jan 2015). This equates to €4.33 per day. As someone else pointed out, a breakfast of porridge/toast/fruit could be provided to a child for less than €1 per day. If you are unable to do that as a parent you are negligent ie: causing unintentional harm due to an inability to plan, budget or prioritise.

steddyeddy

suicide_circus wrote: »

In this country if you have a child, you receive child benefit payments. These are payments to help people to pay for the costs associated with caring for a child. The number 1 most essential of these costs is feeding the child, nothing is more important. Nothing. Child benefit is €130 per month (€135 from 1st Jan 2015). This equates to €4.33 per day. As someone else pointed out, a breakfast of porridge/toast/fruit could be provided to a child for less than €1 per day. If you are unable to do that as a parent you are negligent ie: causing unintentional harm due to an inability to plan, budget or prioritise.

Porridge and toast contain enough nutrients for a healthy child? What about lunch and dinner?

TheLastMohican

steddyeddy wrote: »

Again you're confusing calorific intake with nutritional quality.

That means they're spending on the wrong type of food.

stevedublin

steddyeddy wrote: »

I would consider it an insult to my intelligence to continue this conversation with you.

Then why are you continuing with the conversation?

Beaner1

steddyeddy wrote: »

Porridge and toast contain enough nutrients for a healthy child? What about lunch and dinner?

They could try [ insert one of thousands of healthy meals] or cook up some [insert another"] cheaply enough.

opiniated

AlexisM wrote: »

Can you explain how a child can go to school hungry in a country with extremely generous welfare system? Serious question because I genuinely don't understand how it can happen without some level of parental choice/poor decision-making.

Food for your children should be an extremely high priority for any parent (pretty much the number one priority unless there are life-saving medications which the state is somehow not providing). So giving food first dibs on any household income, how can a child go hungry to school?

That English MP who got raked over the coals a few weeks ago (for suggesting that people are going hungry/are malnourished because they don't know about nutrition or how to cook) claimed she could make porridge for 4p (I think she treated a few journalists to this). The 4p porridge was made with water which doesn't sound great but making it with full fat milk and some sugar probably wouldn't push the cost over 20c.

If you have a child, you owe it to them to ensure their health and well-being - and that includes educating yourself on how best to feed them. Anything else is veering into neglect. It might not be overt 'hey I'm going to buy fags instead of good food for my kids' but it is neglect nonetheless.

I can remember paying out more for one trip to the doctor + medication for my asthmatic son than twice the average weekly wage.
Granted, that was in the eighties, but I have no doubt that many families are in the same situation now, with family members who have illnesses/dietary requirements that the state does not provide for. Asthma is just one example of an illness that is not regarded as long-tem.

I was lucky enough to be able to always feed my children - but I can remember being hungry more than once myself.

The other issue that immediately springs to mind is people with mortgages who are in negative equity.
Rising rents in some parts of the Country can cost more than the mortgage, and reduced incomes, whether through unemployment or a reduction in wages can leave families in a catch 22 situation.
Add in enexpected expenses, whether medical emergencies, additional heating requirements etc - and plenty of perfectly capable people are struggling.

I don't believe for one second that people have suddenly decided that they can't be bothered to feed their children. Particularly when there is a correlation between the recession and a rise in child poverty.

coolbeans

Beaner1 wrote: »

Lots of vested interested pushing the food poverty lie. The real statistics tell a different story. Food has not even doubled in price the past 30 years whilst incones have increased over five fold.

Stop talking about statistics when you've demonstrated yourself incapable of referencing.
And your "many academic papers" are just a figment of yourWalter Mitty like imagination.
Sorry mods but bull****'s gotta be called.

StormWarrior

Beaner1 wrote: »

They could try [ insert one of thousands of healthy meals] or cook up some [insert another"] cheaply enough.

don't forget if you're going to cook at home you need gas or electricity. Some people in fuel poverty might have had theirs cut off. If you only have £2 to last you all day you could either buy a ready-cooked cheap unhealthy burger for £2, which would at least fill you up and keep you warm for a few hours. To make a meal at home you'd need a few different ingredients plus the ability to cook them and we can see why some poor people are fatter than thin people who can afford to spend £2 on a bag of spinach that isn't going to fill them up at all.

Beaner1

coolbeans wrote: »

Stop talking about statistics when you've demonstrated yourself incapable of referencing.
And your "many academic papers" are just a figment of yourWalter Mitty like imagination.
Sorry mods but bull****'s gotta be called.

CSO statbank. It's all there!
Beaner1 PhD

Beaner1

StormWarrior wrote: »

don't forget if you're going to cook at home you need gas or electricity. Some people in fuel poverty might have had theirs cut off. If you only have £2 to last you all day you could either buy a ready-cooked cheap unhealthy burger for £2, which would at least fill you up and keep you warm for a few hours. To make a meal at home you'd need a few different ingredients plus the ability to cook them and we can see why some poor people are fatter than thin people who can afford to spend £2 on a bag of spinach that isn't going to fill them up at all.

Why are you imagining apocalyptic scenarios.
Microwave?

http://m.tesco.ie/mt/www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=258290127


29c for nearly 400kcals and relatively nutritious.

harrymagina

Just down to bad parenting. Some parents would rather buy a pack of smokes if money is tight rather than cook their children a healthy dinner for a couple of days.

suicide_circus

StormWarrior wrote: »

don't forget if you're going to cook at home you need gas or electricity. Some people in fuel poverty might have had theirs cut off. If you only have £2 to last you all day you could either buy a ready-cooked cheap unhealthy burger for £2, which would at least fill you up and keep you warm for a few hours. To make a meal at home you'd need a few different ingredients plus the ability to cook them and we can see why some poor people are fatter than thin people who can afford to spend £2 on a bag of spinach that isn't going to fill them up at all.

Yeah but there is fuel allowance for those unable to afford it.
How much should child benefit and fuel allowance be increased by to stop kids in ireland going to school without breakfast?

VinLieger

Its down to laziness and the lack of teaching people how to buy and cook healthy meals.

StormWarrior

It's hardly an apocalyptic scenario. I've been without gas and electric myself in a bedsit as a student. You can't use a microwave then.

Dan_Solo

Spuds. Beans. Peas. Pasta and sauce. Milk.
Sure, Jamie Oliver might not be impressed but this stuff is literally cheaper than chips.

Beaner1

StormWarrior wrote: »

It's hardly an apocalyptic scenario. I've been without gas and electric myself in a bedsit as a student. You can't use a microwave then.

. Once you recognise that the person themselves is to blame for having their gas and electricity cut off and not the state, government or a lack of money.

steddyeddy

stevedublin wrote: »

Then why are you continuing with the conversation?

Not with him/her I'm not.

StormWarrior

Beaner1 wrote: »

. Once you recognise that the person themselves is to blame for having their gas and electricity cut off and not the state, government or a lack of money.

In EVERY case? I don't think so. What about people who've suddenly needed benefits, like those on zero hour contracts or with mental or physical health problems or who've had an unfortunate unforeseen occurrance, and their benefits haven't come through in time, or aren't enough?

shuffle65

Dan_Solo wrote: »

Spuds. Beans. Peas. Pasta and sauce. Milk.
Sure, Jamie Oliver might not be impressed but this stuff is literally cheaper than chips.

Chickpeas (cheap protein)
Porridge
Cheap veg from Aldi, for soups as well as for sides for dinner
Homemade pasta sauce made from tinned chopped tomatoes with herbs, onion and garlic

As I said before, Aldi and Lidl are a godsend for those on limited income... especially Aldi Super 6 deals for fruit and veg...

shruikan2553

suicide_circus wrote: »

Yeah but there is fuel allowance for those unable to afford it.
How much should child benefit and fuel allowance be increased by to stop kids in ireland going to school without breakfast?

You could have child benefit at 200 a week and children would still go to school hungry. Would be better off reducing money given to the parents and instead providing food at schools.

steddyeddy

Just to reiterate my op was about Britain. I was asking are we in danger of going down the same route.

Beaner1

StormWarrior wrote: »

In EVERY case? I don't think so. What about people who've suddenly needed benefits, like those on zero hour contracts or with mental or physical health problems or who've had an unfortunate unforeseen occurrance, and their benefits haven't come through in time, or aren't enough?

Again youre imagining a worst case scenario. They could use their savings.
Failing that they could ask their family or friends to help out.
Failing that again as no doubt you would imagine they can go to a soup kitchen or St Vincent de Paul if it's a temporary wait.

end of the road

Beaner1 wrote: »

. Once you recognise that the person themselves is to blame for having their gas and electricity cut off and not the state, government or a lack of money.

absolutely lack of money is to blame. in the case of britain, it is the governments fault also for selling the lot off to paracitic private companies who screw people left right and centre

Solobally8

suicide_circus wrote: »

Yeah but there is fuel allowance for those unable to afford it.
How much should child benefit and fuel allowance be increased by to stop kids in ireland going to school without breakfast?

Increase by €0. I work in education and we have fed hungry kids for the 14 years I've worked here. Most of the parents have plenty money and the students get an allowance yet often leave home hungry in the morning.

end of the road

shruikan2553 wrote: »

providing food at schools.

i'd support this happening

The Bould Rabbit

How much do people on the dole get in the UK?

StormWarrior

Beaner1 wrote: »

Again youre imagining a worst case scenario. They could use their savings.
Failing that they could ask their family or friends to help out.
Failing that again as no doubt you would imagine they can go to a soup kitchen or St Vincent de Paul if it's a temporary wait.

You're imagining a best case scenario though. Plenty of people don't have savings or family who are able to help. I live in Britain though, maybe it's different in Ireland. From reading boards Ireland is starting to sound like a socialist paradise, maybe I should move there.

Beaner1

StormWarrior wrote: »

You're imagining a best case scenario though. Plenty of people don't have savings or family who are able to help. I live in Britain though, maybe it's different in Ireland. From reading boards Ireland is starting to sound like a socialist paradise, maybe I should move there.

It is a socialst paradise. A nightmare for workers which is why I left.