Children's charity Barnardos is calling for the expansion of the hot school meals programme to include holiday periods.
It also wants the programme to be extended to secondary schools and more non-Deis schools.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland after a report from the charity, CEO of Barnardos Suzanne Connolly said parents and their children have had to cut back on or go without essentials over the past six months because of increases in the cost of living.
The hot meals programme needs to be extended to more schools and into school holidays, Ms Connolly said, as she called on the Government to consider running a pilot scheme during this year's summer break.
"It's worth a try to try and see if that is a way that families can access food during that period because we know for families struggling, that the holidays are difficult because the children are all at home, the children are active, children are hungry understandably," she said.
"Children at school need to be fed so they can concentrate, and we know that those who are struggling most are families on fixed incomes."
She also highlighted the issue of people putting off seeking medical care due to the cost.
"What parents are saying is that because they have to wait until they get paid, that they're not bringing their child to the doctor for what they know is some needed medical attention," Ms Connolly said.
"The Government is predicting massive surpluses, so it is incumbent on the Government to think of the most vulnerable in society, particularly children, and to think about how we can, as a State, help them."
Ms Connolly called on the Government to prioritise the needs of children and families who she said "are really struggling in this wealthy country".
She said that people are pleased with the once-off measures that the Government has implemented, but "it's not enough".
She said that families should not be worrying on a day-to-day basis.
"No parent wants to look at their child and say we're poor, but actually there are people who are poor in Irish society and we know how wealthy we are," Ms Connolly said.
"So, one of the things we're asking the Government to do in this budget is to ensure that social supports and income supports for families are benchmarked against the minimum essential standards of living.
"We can afford it, we can do it. It would be a disgrace actually not to.
"The Government has been very proud of the fact that they've got an additional needs payment and it is welcome to families. But it's taking five to six weeks to get an answer and that is five to six weeks of families struggling with basic needs."
