Soaring food prices mean poorest Kiwi kids going without healthy food, study finds

For a household with two adults and two children, food prices have risen 35% between 2018 and 2023. Photo / 123rf

• A new study has found the soaring price of food is taking a major toll on Kiwi children’s physical and mental health.
• For a household with two adults and two children, food prices have risen 35% between 2018 and 2023.
• There are fears about the impact on children’s educations if they are not able to access nutritious food.

A new study has found that the soaring price of food means our poorest families cannot afford to feed their children healthy diets.

The University of Auckland study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, found it was “virtually impossible” for families on a benefit to feed their children healthily.

Health experts and children’s advocates call the findings “shameful” and urge the government to prioritise children’s health over grocery store profits.

Lead researcher and GP Dr Joanna Strom said nutrition for children creates a foundation for the rest of their lives.

Strom said one-third of all children in New Zealand are overweight or obese and only 5.4% of children aged 2 to 14 eat the recommended number of servings of vegetables daily.

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

“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.”

In her research, Strom designed a tool to model the costs for a family with two children.

Strom said she focused her study on the “lower cost healthy foods” index produced by Statistics New Zealand.

She found prices increased 35% from 2018 to 2023, with the largest annual increase being a rise of 13.6% in 2023.

“Generally, there has been a year-on-year increase in these lower-cost healthy foods, over the past six years, which is higher than the food price index overall, and that is concerning,” Strom said.

She said the data gets more concerning when you consider the children’s needs grow as they do.

Strom said in the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in its 2023 report estimated a family with two children which was renting and receiving government allowances could have an income of $1157 per week.

Strom said using her tool and data collected from CPAG she found this family would be in a $212 deficit each week if they were to feed their children low-cost healthy food.

CPAG spokesperson and professor of Nutrition at AUT, Dr Elaine Rush, said high rates of malnutrition will affect the future health needs and productivity of New Zealand.

“The child cannot wait: the time to invest in their future is now.”

Health Coalition Aotearoa’s (HCA) food policy expert advisory group co-chair, Dr Sally Mackay, said it was an “impossible challenge” for low-income families.

“It is shameful that New Zealand cannot provide better access to healthy food for its own, most vulnerable citizens.

“The nutritional needs of children must be prioritised in our food policies and systems over the profits of the food industry.”

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.