A Glenrothes mum warns parents are going hungry so they can afford to feed their children, as charities call for urgent action to tackle rising poverty across Fife.
Organisations are calling for stronger recognition of the scale of hardship in Fife, particularly in rural areas, where high transport costs, expensive food shopping and poor access to services make life tougher.
Single mum-of-three Martha Shelton-Eckstein says the rising cost of household bills and food costs means every day is a struggle to make ends meet.
“You’re watching the electric bills go up constantly. You want the kids to go to bed happy and full. Sometimes that means I’m having toast while they’re having big, full meals, but that’s the sacrifice you make.
“So many parents are sacrificing for easy, unhealthy options that aren’t going to fill them with energy, just so their kids don’t suffer.
“It’s the decision we would all make, but it’s not okay.”
Part-time student Martha, whose children are aged eight, five and three, says she didn’t know which benefits she was entitled to until she contacted local charity Fife Gingerbread for help.
“The true terror of being like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get through this week,’ and ‘I don’t know who to reach out to if I can’t. It was so tight.
” I couldn’t afford to take them to hospital appointments. I was using food banks. I couldn’t get through day-to-day, let alone if my car broke. Then, I’d need to take a line of credit, which means more debt the following month.
“Every single day I check my bank account: spending on food, how much the energy bills are, making sure I’ve got money aside for when things go wrong. It’s that constant exhaustion behind it.”
Figures show that 25% (17,166) of children in Fife are living in relative poverty after housing costs, according to the End Child Poverty Coalition. This is just above the Scotland rate of 23%.
Child poverty is highest in the Glenrothes and Mid Fife constituency at 30.1%, followed by Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy at 27.3%.
Rates are lower in Dunfermline and Dollar (21.2%) and North East Fife (21.4%).
‘Parents are making really difficult decisions’
Fife Gingerbread provides both lone parents and families in need with a range of services to help them cope with housing, work and money advice – and they say they’ve seen an increase in demand.
Recent data has shown that around 70% of the families they help are living below low-income thresholds.
CEO Laura Millar said: “What that means is, on a daily basis, mums and dads are making really difficult decisions that impact mental health and wellbeing for the whole household.
“That is a real restriction to families being able to progress and move forward in their lives. They often feel really stuck in those circumstances.
“The system is failing them. It’s not a lack of willingness or motivation from individual households for life to be better. People want to see improvements and want the best for their kids, but we need to fix the system so we can enable them.”
STV NewsFife’s cost-of-living crisis – particularly acute in rural areas – was the focus of a conference held in Cupar as part of Poverty Action Week.
Campaigners say that those living outside towns face extra pressures, including higher food prices, transport costs and poor broadband access.
Kirstie Freeman, council community manager for North East Fife, warned of the “rural premium” – hidden costs for those living in those communities.
She said: “There’s the cost of your food shopping. The more expensive fuel costs – you might have to have your own car as the public transport is so scarce and unreliable. Add the cost of decent broadband to get connected.
“What we’re finding is there’s also an impact on older people; they can’t cope with the cost of getting to GPs or a simple trip to the supermarket. It can affect people in a number of different ways.
“It’s important to shine a light on the significant challenges in the area and the work people are doing to address it.
“We have got to work together to make things better for everybody.”
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