The undoubted link between poverty and poor nutrition should not beused as a further opportunity to stigmatise the poor, write Jim Walsh, Audry Deane and Jack Dunphy.
Food matters are central to current debates about health and lifestyle. The growing awareness of healthy eating, especially for children, should not blind us to the other side of the food equation - that of families and children who have an inadequate food and nutrition intake due to financial and related barriers. It may be hard to visualise food shortages in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland but recent research shows that this is the case.
A letter writer to The Irish Times, Paul Kavanagh (June 2nd), expresses his disbelief at the findings in the Combat Poverty, Crosscare and the Society of St Vincent de Paul study about inadequate diet and food poverty. He also infers that if there is a problem, it is because of individual food choice in that "too many people are eating too much junk".
Allow us to clarify for Mr Kavanagh and your readers the extent and causes of food poverty in Ireland and to situate these findings in the wider public debate about food and nutrition policy.
"Food poverty" is defined as the inability to have an adequate and nutritious diet due to cost and access problems. Our study draws on a variety of information sources to show that low-income households consume an inadequate level of nutritious food.
For example, in 2001 the Economic and Social Research Institute found that 5 per cent of the population (c. 200,000 people) experienced basic deprivation, including a lack of three food-related items (a substantial meal every day; chicken, meat, fish or its equivalent every second day; and a roast or its equivalent once a week).
The SLÁN health and lifestyle survey shows a marked variation in food and nutrition between socio-economic groups. For example, three-quarters of professional/managerial social classes meet the daily recommendation of four or more servings of fruit and vegetables, compared to only half for those from unskilled social classes.
Supporting these national surveys are micro-studies which reveal the food and nutritional deficits experienced by specific low-income groups, such as people who are homeless, the unemployed, Travellers and refugees.
These data are supplemented by qualitative accounts of the difficulties low-income families encounter in consuming an adequate diet. Sociological studies of low-income families, together with the direct experiences of personnel in the Society of St Vincent de Paul, teachers and parents involved in school meal schemes, operators of food centres and health board community nutritionists, confirm that children do go to school with inadequate food and mothers do go without food so that their children can have more to eat.
Another indication of the reality of this problem is that Crosscare, through the Dublin Food Bank, last year distributed 590 tonnes of food and groceries and provided about 200,000 meals for families and older people. We also have hard evidence that groups at high risk of food poverty, such as Travellers, suffer more ill health and have a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality rate than the settled population.
Given the overwhelming evidence of the connection between low income and inadequate diet, is this the result of external factors or uninformed individual choices?
The research shows the predominant factors are economic and social. The Household Budget Survey in 2000 found that, while poorer groups prioritise expenditure on food relative to the societal norm (30 per cent compared to a norm of 20 per cent), in cash terms (€215 per week) this is less than half the average spent, or a sixth of that spent by the highest income group.
As well as cost, other factors influencing food choices are ease of preparation, transportation and storage. The food options for those in peripheral housing estates are especially constrained due to the type of shops that are accessible and the range and price of food they provide. As for individual food choice, the report finds that low-income groups are aware of healthy foods, with personal and family preferences also having an influence.
There has been a reluctance up to now to highlight the problem of inadequate diet among low-income groups, in part because it may further stigmatise them as poor managers, as Mr Kavanagh mistakenly concludes.
The current public concern with problems of food excess should not blind us to the less visible problem of many low-income households, which are unable to enjoy an adequate and nutritious diet due to financial and related constraints.
Addressing the reality of food poverty will require a multi-faceted policy response encompassing adequate welfare payments, access to affordable food, community food initiatives, measures to improve dietary knowledge and skills, and selective use of direct food provision. The benefits of this intervention would be reflected in health gains, participation in education and social inclusion.
Altogether, it's a relatively low-cost policy measure with many social outcomes that should not be missed.
Jim Walsh is head of research and policy, Combat Poverty Agency.
Audry Deane is national social policy officer, Society of St Vincent de Paul.
Jack Dunphy is programme manager, food and homeless services, Crosscare.