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 says nutrition for children creates a foundation for the rest of their lives.

“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, Joanna designed a tool to model the costs for a family with two children.

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

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

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

She says in the Child Poverty Action Group 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.

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

CPAG spokesperson and professor of Nutrition at AUT, Dr Elaine Rush, says 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, says it's 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.”

-Bay of Plenty Times.