Advocates for children living in poverty are concerned the Government is not doing enough to support young people struggling to eat, let alone go to school.
The latest data from StatsNZ shows 23,000 more children are lacking basic household essentials like groceries and good shoes.
Chief Executive of the KidsCan charity, Julie Chapman, says housing costs are consuming too much of people's meagre incomes, forcing families, parents and children, to work multiple jobs to put food on the table.
Chapman spoke to Corin Dann.
