Low-income families in the city cannot afford even half the price of a square meal needed for a balanced daily diet, according to a study.
The Oxfam Hong Kong study released yesterday found that an adult needs to spend more than HK$66 a day to maintain a balanced diet, but this is more than double the HK$30 a day that low-income families can afford.
Carried out in the past two months, the study was based on a seven-day menu of nutritionally balanced meals for working adults and children aged between six and 12.
Oxfam warned rising inflation would only make matters worse.
'Spending on food already eats up some 40 per cent of the income of many grass-roots families,' said Wong Shek-hung, an Oxfam advocacy officer. 'So with prices rising, all they can do is eat less.'
Only breakfasts and dinners were included because most students eat their lunch at school and most working adults eat out for lunch, according to Oxfam.