Covid-19: Families struggle to feed children with schools and daycares closed

Friday, 27 August 2021

Since lockdown started, early childhood teacher Emma-Jane Jones has spent sleepless nights wondering whether the children she teaches are getting enough food.

At her centre in Ōtara, South Auckland, a lot of the families rely on the three meals a day the children are fed when they are at kindy.

Some families had six children in early childhood education (ECE) or primary school – that was an extra 18 meals to find every day, she said.

A lot of parents were doing “frontline jobs at minimum wage rates” and some families had to give up one income so there was an adult to look after the children.

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**

Even after the Government introduced childcare for essential workers, people did not feel safe extending their bubbles to send children into other people’s homes, she said.

“They are making sacrifices of income and food to make sure their babies are safe at home.”

Income was not the only barrier to families filling their pantries. With locations of interest cropping up around South Auckland, households self-isolating had been forced to rely on the goodwill of others to get groceries.

People were reluctant to use buses after so many were identified as locations of interest and solo parents struggled to shop because their only option was taking their children to queue at supermarkets.

“It is extremely scary,” Jones said.

A rush of panic buying also meant getting to the supermarket was no guarantee of getting groceries.

“We can’t afford to run out and fill our trolleys at the drop of a hat.”

But when other people did, it left no food – or only the most expensive brands – for them to buy.

Jones said her worries for families were “weighing on her heavily” this lockdown.

When she put a call out asking who needed help with food, all 27 families replied – most within minutes.

“No-one wants to admit they need food for their family, especially in a community as proud as ours.”

The fact they all replied – and so quickly – showed how desperate things were, she said.

Food boxes will be provided by KidsCan, which is aiming to deliver 2500 food parcels in areas of Auckland and Wellington affected by the recent outbreak.

Liz Donnelly, manager of Tamariki Takitumu Punanga Reo Educational Trust, in Māngere, said families were finding this lockdown the hardest yet.

With the outbreak in the “backyard of South Auckland”, people were scared of going to the supermarket.

Instead, they were shopping at dairies, just getting the bare essentials, such as noodles, bread and milk – and paying more for them.

Most families budgeted based on children being fed at school. Suddenly having to provide food all day had left them struggling to cope, she said.

It had been hard for families to access support from foodbanks, she said, and the food boxes would make a massive difference.

To donate to KidsCan’s $19 for 19 campaign, helping families in areas affected by Covid outbreaks, visit www.19for19.org.nz