'Lonely, cold, hungry': Pain even hits middle income schools in cost of living crisis
Principals in even middle-income schools are reporting unprecedented levels of need as the cost of living crisis bears down on some of the youngest New Zealanders. They are speaking out now, under the condition of anonymity to protect their students, as schools and early childcare charity KidsCan, which helps schools feed and clothe children, launches its winter appeal amid dropping donations as donors react to their own living cost crisis by cutting back on charity. A principal in a North Island school, which was decile 5 before the system was ditched, has her school on the KidsCan waiting list. She last week found a young boy crying in the playground. When she asked him what was wrong, he said he was lonely, cold and hungry. She has another family sleeping in a tent in someones backyard and regularly brings in her own childrens clothes to keep her students warm. READ MORE: * Cost of living crisis 'traumatic' for some students in Aotearoa, principal says * Students staying home from school because they can't afford stationery teachers * School reduces uniform costs, signs up for free lunches in bid cut costs for its families Why am I, as a principal who's here to lead education, having to pick up everything else before we can even teach the children?, she said. She earned a decent wage, as did her husband, but with three children the cost of living crisis was being felt at home. They used to do the supermarket shopping and add what they wanted to the trolley but now had to be far more selective. We just cant afford it, she said. The latest Stats NZ data shows grocery prices rose 12.7% in the year to May with the cost of fruit and vegetables an 18.4% increase the fastest climber. The food price index percentage change in 2023 reached levels not seen since the late 1980s to early 1990s. Meanwhile, rental prices hit an all-time high in late 2022 , while the Electricity Networks Association has predicted power bills will double within five years , while councils around New Zealand hike rates . Data shows that in the year to December, 34% of people had had no increase in their annual pay while Stats NZ data shows the 12 months to March saw inflation reach 6.7% on the back of already historically high inflation. At the school gates, the reality behind those numbers is playing out. Some of our children are just used to being cold, said another North island principal who just got off the KidsCan waiting list. The cost of living crisis was making getting by the hardest he had seen in 23 years of education. There are sections of our community where the kids come from homes with very little heating. We've got kids who turn up in bare feet with just a shirt and shorts and its freezing. Theyve kind of been conditioned to accept that that's their norm. KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman said monthly donors were having to cancel donations as they dealt with the cost of living crisis themselves. It came as jackets had jumped in price by 20% and some food items, such as baked beans, had gone up by 39%.