Madrid (EFE).- The NGO Action Against Hunger has warned that despite the fact that in 2022 the Spanish population at risk of poverty fell from 27.8% to 26%, access to healthy and balanced food for these families it’s getting harder.
“Access to healthy diets has been made much more complicated by inflation due to the conflict in Ukraine, the decisions of distribution chains and the increase in the cost of production,” explained the director of technical engineering and social action at Action Against Hunger, Luis González, in an interview with EFE.
The increase in the price of the healthiest foods (oil, fruit, vegetables…) has not been accompanied by enough public policies, such as the increase in the minimum vital income or wages, González stresses, which has caused many households to “ reduce the amounts of meals or consume a greater amount of ultra-processed products”.
In fact, “Spain continues to be at the tail of the European Union”, declared the director, who added that between 2016 and 2018, 7.5% of the Spanish population suffered from some type of food insecurity, above average 5% of Western Europe.
5.9 percent of children suffer from malnutrition
According to data from the 2022 Living Conditions Survey, 5.9% of children (almost half a million) suffer from some type of malnutrition and cannot afford an animal protein meal based on meat, chicken and fish every two days , a figure that worsened compared to the previous year (4.9%).
“In cities, having a healthy diet depends on income level, in addition to training and education,” explains González, who adds that this precariousness is more accentuated in single-parent families, with other cohabitants (grandparents, uncles, etc.) and couples with children.
To this end, Action Against Hunger calls for strengthening public procurement in school canteens with nutritional and sustainable criteria, in addition to incorporating healthy habits in the classroom.
Also that inclusion policies be reinforced to promote access to decent employment for the population with lower incomes and in a situation of social protection, training families in healthy nutrition habits.
On the other hand, the humanitarian organization has highlighted the difficulties in obtaining data on hunger in the country and that there is still no official definition of the Basic Food Basket or its cost.
“It is very difficult to address, monitor and apply policies associated with food insecurity,” says the head of Action Against Hunger.