Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Sally MacKay: Health Coalition Aotearoa Spokesperson on the high costs of health food

Transcript

Sally MacKay: Health Coalition Aotearoa Spokesperson on the high costs of health food · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Soaring food prices are taking a toll on our kids.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: This is published a new report published this morning. It's
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: published in the Journal of Royal Society of New Zealand
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: by the University of Auckland. It found food basket prices
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: increased by thirty five percent in the six years from
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen to December of last year. This is for
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: healthy food for families. It means it's virtually impossible for
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a family on a benefit to afford healthy food, and
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: with more than one third of kids being overweight or obese,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: it's even more reasons to be concerned. The Health Coalition
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  Speaker 1: alto Are Food Policy Expert Advisory Group co chair Sally
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: McKay is with us. She's a nutritionist. Sally, good morning, Sally.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Can you hear me? I think we might have to
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: try and get us Sally. Are you there?
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I am there. We go tell me how concerning? Is
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: one of the interesting things I read in the report.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Just five point four percent of kids aged two to
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: fourteen years eat the recommended veggies per day.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Yes, that is very concerning. And the recommendations for vegetables
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: did actually change in the last few years, and the
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  Speaker 2: recommendation is now a little bit higher than it was,
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  Speaker 2: which is another reason why that figure does look so low.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: But even before the recommendations changed, many of our children
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: were not getting enough vegetables every day.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Are they too high the recommendations I was having a
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: look at it. I think it's if you're twelve to thirteen,
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  Speaker 1: it's five veggies per day and two pieces of fruit
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: per day. I mean, is that a bit much? I
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: mean if ninety five percent of kids aren't doing it.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Well, the recommendations, I guess are something to aim for.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: And even if you can get close to those recommendations
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: then that would be better for you health. With vegetables,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: the more you eat the better. So yeah, if you're
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: getting close, then that's not so bad. And we do
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: do a little bit better on the fruit as well,
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: But still about half of our children don't get enough fruit,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: and those recommendations are quite manageable at only two pieces
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: per day.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: What is the impact of the last few years on
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: low income families when it comes to healthy food.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Well, we've seen that there's a lot more food parcels
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  Speaker 2: that have been given out and the latest data on
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: food in security in New Zealand shows that one in
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: five children in that household, they often or sometimes run
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: out of food. So obviously this impacts those children that
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: don't get enough to eat, and in particular it impacts
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: their learning when they're at school, and that's what we're
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: really concerned about.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: And this is basically this research is basically a new
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: tool to measure the cost of feeding care as well.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Yes, so we have that New Zealand has a food
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: price Index and they publish the prices of about over
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: one hundred foods every month, and so this way we
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: can keep track of what it costs to feed a
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: family very easily with this tool that has been developed.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: The sad thing here is those families who are on benefits.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: I mean, you know it is hard when you're on
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: a fixed income like that. Surely we need to be
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: encouraging more families into work.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Well, we need to. I mean for some families, the
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: reasons they're on the benefit because it is difficult to
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: work and they need to be on it. So, yes,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: while we do want some families to work, we want
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: those that have to be on the benefit to be
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: able to afford healthy food. And often it's the other
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: cost like the rent and the transport and the electricity.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: That mean that there's not very much left over for
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: food at the end of the day.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sorry, no, I was referring to the job seekert there.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Does this include does this research look at the schools
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: providing lunches for kids, families who might be gardening or
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: growing their own food that kind of stuff.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: No, it doesn't, and we have done some other research
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: that shows obviously if you are gathering or growing your
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: own food from other sources, then that will bring that down.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: And the Healthy School Lunch's program that does provide a
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: free lunch to about a quarter of our children. Of course,
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: that is going to help those families with their budgets
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: and research has shown that it does reduce the food
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: budget per week. So we're pleased to see that the
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: government has kept the Healthy School Lunches program and it
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: would be great if it could reach more children.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: All right, Sally, thank you very much for your time.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: It's doctor Sally McKays. She's with the Health Coalition. Olt
• 4:59
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• 5:01
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