Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), has released the latest data on so-called food poverty among children. Poland, with a score of 11 % of children insufficiently nourished, performed better than the EU average and better than many much richer countries, including France, Italy and Germany.

Presented in the Analysis of the Child Guarantee National Action Plans report, the indicator measures the proportion of children unable to eat a complete meal, consisting of meat, chicken, fish or a vegetarian equivalent – every other day.

In the child food poverty scorecard, Poland was ranked eleventh among all EU Member States. According to the data, in our country 11.28 % of children do not have the opportunity to eat a wholesome meal once every two days.  This is lower than the EU average, which is 16 % in 2021. The most similar result to Poland was recorded in Spain, where 10 % of children live at risk of nutritional poverty.

Countries with the lowest percentage of children who cannot eat properly include Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Sweden. In these countries, the percentage does not exceed 7 %.

The highest percentage of children unable to eat a healthy, balanced diet is found in Bulgaria. In this country, more than 45 % of children do not have access to a wholesome meal every other day. Romania, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia have between 30 and 35 % of children with poorer access to adequate food, according to Eurostat data.

The situation is better in France, Italy and Germany, but these countries also ranked above the EU average. Germany has more than 22 % of children at risk of food poverty, while France and Italy have less than 20 %.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński