Christmas carries an expectation of warmth and ease. Of busy homes, togetherness, small indulgences and a sense that, for a few days at least, worries can be set aside and ordinary rules relaxed. But for too many households now, that ease simply isn’t there.
Rising costs mean paying for one thing requires holding back on another. For many people, their next payday won’t ease the strain. The fact that there are people in need at Christmas is not a new phenomenon. What is new is how widespread it has become.
Food poverty is no longer confined to a small, easily overlooked cohort. It’s increasingly affecting people who are working and earning a decent amount, people who, in a functioning system, should be able to get through Christmas without this kind of pressure.
In Dublin earlier this month, images showed more than 3,000 people queuing from the early hours outside the Capuchin Day Centre for Christmas food vouchers. By early morning, the line stretched through surrounding streets, made up of mothers with children, people with disabilities, elderly men and women, and many who said it was the first time they had ever sought this kind of help.
Staff at the centre said it was the longest queue they had seen in many years. It was a stark sight, not because food poverty is new, but because of how openly visible it has become.
And while this was happening in Dublin, it would be a mistake to think Donegal is different.
Those working on the front line of food poverty in the county have been warning for some time that the cost-of-living crisis is pushing more people towards emergency support.
Mary Coyle of Ionad Naomh Pádraig, Dobhair, has spoken publicly about families doing everything that is asked of them – working, budgeting, trying to stay afloat – and yet still finding that there’s not enough left to cover food, heat and housing at the same time.
Meanwhile, the Donegal Food Response Network, which brings together food banks and social supermarkets across the county, has also highlighted the growing demand for support and the changing profile of those seeking help.
Crucially, many are in employment while food banks that were once looked upon as short-term emergency measures are now permanent features of community life. All of this should give us pause.
Food banks tend to emerge in wealthy societies where the gap between income and living costs has grown too wide. They are not a sign of laziness or shortage, but of vulnerability, such as households without savings, wages that no longer stretch far enough, and support systems that struggle to keep pace with real life.
Ireland is often described as a wealthy country and, by many measures, it’s true. But national wealth does not automatically translate into household security.
For too many families, particularly those renting or living week to week, there is no buffer. When rent rises, energy bills spike or hours are cut, food becomes the flexible expense, simply because it’s the only thing left to adjust. That is how food poverty takes hold quietly, often out of sight, until it can no longer be hidden.
Initiatives supported by organisations such as Donegal Local Development Company aim to address food insecurity through community projects, education and collaboration. Volunteers, charities and community groups continue to step in with dignity and compassion. Their work is vital and matters deeply.
But generosity cannot be a long-term substitute for security. A society should not depend on food banks to make everyday life viable for working families. When emergency responses become normal, something fundamental has gone wrong.
Christmas shines a light on this reality, whether on the streets of Dublin or in homes across Donegal, not because it naturally creates financial pressure, but because of the message it carries. It’s a season saturated with language about peace, hope and goodwill, and at its heart is a story about shelter, warmth and welcome.
That is why the growing reliance on food banks feels so jarring. Not because Christmas demands forced cheerfulness, but because it reminds us how central safety, security and dignity are to any long-term, meaningful idea of peace.
