Barnardo’s warns of a challenging winter for families as hunger drives demand for support

Barnardo’s Northern Ireland is warning of a difficult winter ahead for families, with hunger emerging as the leading reason parents are turning to the charity’s Child Poverty Fund for help. The need for warm, suitable clothing is the second most common request, new figures released today reveal.

The Child Poverty Fund is just one of the ways in which Barnardo’s supports families across Northern Ireland. Each year, the charity works with around 18,000 children, young people, parents, and carers, providing vital services and practical help.

Since opening last year, the fund has provided grants to families that are already accessing Barnardo's services across Northern Ireland. Over a third (35%) of emergency payments made were to prevent hunger, while 22% were for clothing and 15% for heating. Many applications have come from families who are in work but still struggle to make ends meet.

Through SureStart programmes, Barnardo’s NI also supports around 3,000 families with children under four in areas of high deprivation — where requests for help with essentials are increasing sharply. Barnardo's Northern Ireland works in partnership with other voluntary and community sector organisations to support families to get the help they need at the right time. 

An estimated one in four children — around 104,000 young people — in Northern Ireland are now living below the poverty line. With food prices continuing to rise and the cost of school meals due to increase in January, Barnardo’s staff are witnessing growing pressure on families as Christmas approaches.

Sarah*, a single mother, lives in Belfast with her two daughters who are six and ten. She and her family have been supported by Barnardo’s NI.

She said: “Life is so expensive. I hate going shopping now, it is so depressing. Even the price of washing tablets has rocketed so much, the ones I used to buy were £3.75 and they are now £5.20. That’s a big jump for me.  

“School costs for the girls get higher every year, especially as my eldest will be heading to secondary school next year. The costs of going into high school frightens me.  

"I’m dreading Christmas this year. I recently had to have a difficult conversation with my eldest that this year would be different. It broke my heart, it's stealing a piece of her childhood. I had to be honest because I won’t be able to afford the presents they’re hoping for this year. She was very upset and cried. 

“When our Barnardo’s support worker came into our lives she was brilliant, my kids love her. The Tesco vouchers she arranged helped me buy essentials like saucepans. But she also really helped us talk about our feelings as a family.”

Michele Janes, Director of Barnardo’s NI said: “Our colleagues are seeing the impact of poverty on families first-hand increasingly as winter approaches. Hunger is a real concern. Food banks do a great job in our communities, but we need to address the root causes of poverty and not just the symptoms.

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“Poverty doesn’t just affect day-to-day living – it has lifelong consequences for children's physical and mental health, education and future opportunities.

“The draft anti-poverty strategy published by the NI Executive earlier this year is not fit for purpose because it does not tackle the root causes of poverty. It has no new actions, targets or funding commitments. The cost to the NI government of not tackling child poverty is £1bn a year. Investing to help families now would reduce these long-term costs and change lives.”

Barnardo’s, as part of the Anti-Poverty Strategy Group, is calling for clear and measurable outcomes in any new strategy, including:

• A new weekly child payment for all children living in poverty
• For the NI Executive to lobby Westminster to remove the two-child benefit cap and to immediately progress the mitigation of this in Northern Ireland as soon any change is announced
• Affordable childcare
• Measures to make education cost-free

“Our children and young people in Northern Ireland deserve the best start in life – good health, a happy childhood and real opportunities for the future,” Michele Janes added.

To find out more about Barnardo’s and how you could help give Christmas back to children living in poverty visit barnardos.org.uk.

*Sarah’s name has been changed to protect her identity.