Families campaigner Martha Dismont yesterday urged grocers to reduce their prices amid fears many more people are dropping below the poverty line.Ms Dismont claimed the average single parent with one child now has to spend $7,000 per year on basic food, $4,000 more than five years ago.And she said Government’s perilous financial position means families are getting less state support at a time they need it the most.She was reflecting on food price figures revealed in The Royal Gazette, showing staple items such as bread, potatoes and rice have rocketed by more than 50 percent in the past decade.“There are increasingly more and more families looking for ‘food banks’. Families have less financial means to meet their basic needs,” Ms Dismont said yesterday.She said in 2007 the two-parent family with two children spent $7,000 a year on basic food. In 2012, it costs that amount for a single parent with one child.“If the food costs continue to rise, this adds an extra burden on families who are struggling to pay rent, mortgages, clothing and electricity bills,” she said.She said 24 percent of families were at or below the poverty line in 2008, meaning they weren’t earning enough to support their living costs.“With unemployment continuing to be a problem, it is possible that new families will begin to fall to, or below, the poverty line, and other families will fall even further,” she said.“The cost of housing and shelter makes up about 60 percent of a household budget and is the leading cause of Bermuda’s low-income threshold being almost double that of the US.“In other words, our high cost of living is very tied to the cost of housing and shelter which make up about 60 percent of a family’s budget. This is already a significant burden on the family.“If unemployment continues in Bermuda, family members who end up supporting other unemployed family members, will also end up with dwindling resources.“Rising food costs exacerbate an already difficult situation. Government has attempted to ease the burden in the past with certain fees relief for seniors, less fees for students attending Bermuda College, and free day care for a certain income level family.“However, given Government’s difficult deficit situation, we are losing some of this support. Residents are having to find many ways to be creative about survival.”Ms Dismont said a better employment rate would help, but added: “Bermuda’s grocers must find ways to keep food costs down until we can get our struggling economy back on track.”She said a longer term solution is to educate residents about how to recreate themselves to take part in a new economic environment.“I am not sure we have taken the time to invest more in what locals need to be solid participants,” she said.“We need to strengthen our resources and improve our products. Our greatest resource is our people. If we improve our product, we will be more attractive as a destination from a business perspective, as well as to attract more tourists.”l Have you got a story to tell about the cost of living in Bermuda? E-mail tsmith@royalgazette.bm