'Appalling': Health Coalition Aotearoa on families struggling to afford healthy food

Following a new study, the Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) says it’s “appalling” that families on the benefit struggle to buy healthy food.

Published in the Journal of the Royal Society, the Auckland University study found that soaring food prices have made it "virtually impossible" for families on the benefit to feed their children healthily.

It also discovered that two-children families on financial assistance would be out of pocket by over $200 a week if they purchased low-cost healthy food.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, co-researcher and HCA spokesperson Dr Sally MacKay said it's very disappointing that low-income families struggle to afford healthy food.

"That's a lot of money you can't make up by not paying another bill that week. That is a large amount over the year," MacKay said.

"We've seen the cost of rent, electricity, and transport rise while employment is getting more difficult and some people are losing their jobs.

"So, we really have to do something about that as a country."

Mackay said the research uses the food price index to monitor the price of a low-cost healthy diet. She said some of the food involved in that diet includes "potatoes, rice, apples and bananas".

"The basics we would hope families could afford. The lead researcher Dr Joanna Strom developed this tool and looked at the price changes of food over the last six years.

"What she also accounted for was that as children get older they need more to eat.

"And so she found that those prices had increased by 35 per cent over the last six years which is a major challenge to families."

Dr Sally MacKay (left), Dr Joanna Strom (right). Photo /Supplied (MacKay)/Scoop.co.nz (Strom)

Strom said the research was inspired by the health issues affecting children in her South Auckland general practice.

“Nutrition is so important for children because they're developing and what we eat affects not only our physical health but also mental health,” Strom said.

“If kids are hungry and not eating well, then it impacts their learning, too. But also, if kids are eating overly processed, high-fat, high-sugar foods and becoming overweight, with poor dental health, they can't move their bodies well and that impacts how they interact with other kids.

“You want the foundations in childhood to be the best they can be.”

Watch the full interview on 531pi's FB below:

According to the Ministry of Health, more than one-third of New Zealand children are overweight or obese, alongside only 5.4 per cent of those aged two to 14 eat the recommended servings of vegetables daily.

Furthermore, Pacific and Māori children, children living with a disability or living in more deprived areas, suffer from higher food insecurity and food-related chronic conditions of excess weight.

Mackay encourages people to have one additional serving of vegetables per day, to try to get more vegetables into their household diet.

She said dinner and vegetables often go together, so people can try adding that to their lunch or snacking on carrots.

"We do have the free healthy lunches programme in New Zealand. That does help some of these families that don't have enough to eat.

"And we would really like to see that programme expanded so more children are receiving those free lunches."

However, some have voiced dissatisfaction with the menu changes, which MacKay agreed with.

She said she's concerned about the free lunches provided to secondary schools being changed to central suppliers, halving the costs, but potentially leading to highly-processed packaged food.

"We don't know what the nutrition standards would be for those so that is a concern."