The number of parents reducing their food intake to ensure their children have enough to eat has increased by 12% since last year, according to Barnardos.
It found that 41% of parents have said they had skipped meals or reduced portion sizes to enable their children to have food.
The survey, of a representative sample of 1,000 adults conducted by Coyne Research, found that food insecurity in families with children is worsening.
More parents are cutting back on their own food, borrowing money for food, relying on food banks, and cutting back on spending on other household activities, including clothing, household bills, medical costs and children's activities.
Almost one quarter (24%) have had to borrow money to feed a child in the last year, up from 16% in October 2022 and 11% in January 2022.
Some 21% of families have had to cut back on children’s activities to afford food.
Speaking on his way into a cabinet meeting, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has said there should never be a circumstance where a parent or a child has to go without food and said help is available from the State.
Mr McGrath said he was surprised that there has not been more of an increase in people seeking help from community welfare officers.
"They can make additional payments above and beyond somebody's core weekly payments where there is genuine need," he said.
The minister said he was not doubting the results of the survey, but he was surprised that given the cost of living crisis and the fact inflation was at over 10% at one point last year, that there had not been more of an uptick in people seeking help.
Worry over having enough food
Cost-of-living pressures have resulted in parents worrying about their ability to provide their children with sufficient food.
A total of 45% of parents are either always or sometimes worried about having enough food for the family, according to the annual Barnardos and ALDI Ireland Food Insecurity Research.
This is slightly up on last year (42%), but has more than doubled since January 2022 (19%).
Of the parents who are worried, half said they were "stressed", more than a quarter (26%) said they feel "guilty" and 17% are afraid to ask for help.
The survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults also shows parents are trying to provide healthy eating options.
Almost nine in ten (88%) said that healthy or nutritious food is important in their decision-making (up from 81% a year ago).
More than three-quarters (76%) of parents said that their family always or mostly eat a main daily meal together, and more than nine in ten parents (92%) aim to have mostly home cooked meals.
When it comes to food preparation, five in six said they mostly cook meals from scratch (83%) and a similar number (82%) mostly or always include fruit or vegetables in their meals.
A total of 94% of parents said they aim to give their children fresh fruit and vegetables everyday.
'Stark and heartbreaking'
Barnardos said more needs to be done to guarantee no family struggles to have access to sufficient nutritious food.
It has suggested extending the hot school meals programme to secondary schools; a programme for out of term meals for children who depend on them during the school year and increasing targeted supports in Budget 2025.
CEO of Barnardos Suzanne Connolly described the findings of the study as "stark and heartbreaking".
She called on the Government to publish a food and security plan that will make a difference now to families in Ireland.
"We recognise that there are a lot of demands on the public purse, but there is nothing more basic than having decent, nutritious food everyday," she said.
'In Barnardos it breaks our heart to think that parents, who have a lot to do being a parent, .... have the anxiety and the stress of thinking, can I afford to feed myself?"
Families do seek help from community welfare officers , she said, but some payments can take a long time to be processed.
Additional reporting: Colman O'Sullivan
