Saint Vincent de Paul says that demand for their food hampers is currently at a level usually only seen at Christmas.
The Echo report that they are currently delivering up to 40 hampers a week.
Calls to the charity in July were up 15% from last year, and they have appealed to people in Cork not to resort to using a money lender to help with back to school costs, and to engage instead with Credit Unions and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service.
