A children’s charity is feeding 10,000 more hungry students compared to the beginning of the year as food prices continue to climb.
With the beginning of Term 4, Kidscan said it had calls from principals who were in tears about the hunger and poverty they were seeing among students.
In the 1000 schools and daycares which Kidscan supported, the number of children needing food support had risen from 44,000 in Term 1 and 2 to 54,500 in Term 4.
Food prices are at a 13-year high, with data from Stats NZ last week showing prices rose 8.3 percent in the year to September, including a 16 percent increase for fruit and vegetables. This is being driven by a combination of pandemic supply problems, the war in Ukraine, labour shortages and tough local growing conditions.
