Families ‘petrified’ by sky-high prices in the run up to Christmas

HEad of Cork Penny Dinners, Caitriona Twomey, and cook, Philippe Chabalier working in the kitchen. Picture: David Creedon

Cork charity Penny Dinners has said families are coming forward “distraught and petrified” over sky-high bills and grocery prices in the run-up to Christmas.

The charity sector is warning that families have "no wiggle room” to manage their way out of food poverty.

It follows the publication of a new report from data analytics company Kantar which found grocery inflation hit a record high of 14.7% this year as annual shopping costs surge by €1,000 to reach €8,071.

Caitriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners said she was “alarmed by what people are facing this Christmas. People should not be worried about reaching out to us. We’ve heard every story you can possibly hear.” 

Cork Penny Dinners serve 1,000 people a warm meal each day and expect this Christmas to be their busiest ever.

Transition-year students from Coláiste Éamann Rís delivering food for Cork Penny Dinners in Little Hanover Street. Picture: David Creedon

On the support provided by Government to alleviate the pressures on families, Ms Twomey said: “If you gave me €50, what can I do with that if the bill I’m paying has gone up possibly by more than €50. 

"It’s not actually cutting into anything. I can’t say it’s not welcome because everything is welcome, but it’s only hitting the tip of the iceberg.”

Dublin-based charity Crosscare offers emergency support for families in need and tries to help families find “exit routes” from food poverty through budgeting and other measures.

“In the last couple of months we’ve seen a huge increase in difficulty getting people out of food poverty,” said Crosscare’s Joy Walsh. 

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“Low-income families have no wiggle room. They’ve no buffer for cost-saving measures. We’ve seen an increase in people who would never come to our services before.” 

FoodCloud chief executive Iseult Ward said inflation and the war in Ukraine has 'extended and increased our critical response since we emerged from the worst of the pandemic'. Picture: Naoise Culhane

FoodCloud, which distributes surplus food from companies to charities, said it is redistributing twice the amount of food since before the pandemic, and demand for such food continues to grow within communities.

FoodCloud chief executive Iseult Ward said inflation and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “extended and increased our critical response since we emerged from the worst of the pandemic”.

“As we plan for the next few months ahead, we are reaching out for support from leaders in the private and public sector to ensure FoodCloud’s operations in Ireland can continue to meet the increased demand that we are experiencing over this challenging winter period,” she said.

According to the Kantar report, Dunnes Stores was once again the grocery store of choice for Irish consumers this year, securing 23.3% of the market, closely followed by Tesco (22.2%), SuperValu (20.9%), followed by Lidl and Aldi on around 12%.