Demand soars as over €6m spent on food aid

The level of spending on food aid has gone from €36,000 in 2015 to almost €3m last year.

Figures show that €6.1m has been spent since July 2016 to date on food aid.

The figures are contained in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) report on ‘Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services 2017’, published in recent weeks.

The department said that the money has been filtered through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), in which the EU allocated money to each member state from 2014 to 2020. The overall spend must be made up of 15% national funding, with the remainder from the EU.

While the total value of the fund in Ireland is €26.7m — €4m of which must come from national coffers — the department said €6.1m has been spent through the fund here since July 2016.

The Statistical Information Report highlights the extent of the problem — from a spend of €36,000 in 2015, it grew to almost €1.1m in 2016 and to more than €2.9m last year.

According to the DEASP, 54,600 people benefited from assistance received through FEAD in 2016, but last year that increased to 96,000. The volume of food also increased in the same period, from 162.5 tonnes of food provided in 2016 to 812.7 tonnes last year. The number of partner organisations has also risen, from 94 two years ago to 147 last year.

There are now 154 charities approved as partner organisations which have access to provide food under FEAD, which initially began on a pilot basis before being expanded nationally in November 2016.

Two-thirds of resources allocated are food items, while 35% is allocated for the provision of items such as sleeping bags, personal needs items, shampoo and shower gel.

According to a department spokesperson: “In 2017, approx. €2.4m was spent on 23 food products which were made available to charities for distribution to people. The food products available are sufficient to prepare a complete meal for one person or family using basic cooking utensils.

The FEAD budget for 2018 is €8m with €4.5m of this allocated to ongoing food distribution through the FoodCloud Hubs. The remaining €3.5m is allocated for the distribution of material assistance in the areas of homelessness, school kits and new migrants.

Kate Durrant, a volunteer with St Vincent de Paul in Cork, said there was greater awareness of the programme, but also increased need.

She said four years ago SVP began co-ordinating deliveries of food to 10 local families, but this autumn planning is under way to deliver Christmas food packages to 2,500 in Cork city and county.

“When you are just getting by, there is very little you can cut,” she said of the situation faced by many of the recipients.

“It is increasing year-on-year despite the fact that the economy is doing so well.”

The Operational Programme targets groups including homeless people, children in low-income households, and victims of domestic violence in refuges and shelters.

However, Ms Durrant said there were clients who felt ashamed to be receiving food.

“Certainly at Christmas we deliver to families you would never think of, meeting people in car parks,” she said. “There are families we have not dealt with before.”