Record numbers of low income families are staring into bare kitchen cupboards as food and fuel prices continue to soar.

Sheelagh Cooper of the Coalition for the Protection of Children said her office is hearing from on average five families a day, complaining that they have nothing to feed their children, and is concerned that the trend will only get worse. She added that she believed there was a link between the rising number of children going into foster care and higher food prices.

The March Consumer Price Index was issued yesterday with prices increasing 4.2 percent overall.

However the price of items such as pasta increased by nearly 10 percent in March. Meanwhile eggs went up by 4.5 percent and breakfast cereal rose by 3.7 percent. On average food prices in March rose by 0.5 percent. Fuel prices also increased in March, by 1.2 percent while gasoline prices were up 5.5 percent.

Since March the world has watched as food and fuel prices continue to sky-rocket with the price of oil passing the $122-a-barrel mark on Tuesday - a new record. It has risen by 25 percent since the beginning of 2008.

Meanwhile the UK is reporting the price of food rose by five percent in April alone, the US is reporting the worst food inflation in 17 years and several emerging countries have reported food riots across the globe.

All this means it is likely that the April Consumer Price Index will also see fuel and food prices continue to climb northwards.

Mrs. Cooper believes the Island, like countries around the world, is dealing with a crisis. "We have been dealing with on average five families a day, many of them new," she said. "They are coming to us because they have no food to feed their children.

"These are basic items, cereal and pasta, and the prices just keep going up. Families in the lower quadrant are really struggling. Wages in that sector have not risen to keep pace with inflation over the years so they can't keep up.

"Luckily, I have generous donors and a food warehouse and have been able to help feed these people, but we need to do something as a society because this is a real problem. People aren't being paid a living wage and can't afford food on this Island."

Ms Cooper added that she believed there was a link between the rising number of children going into foster care with food prices.

"Many of the moms we are giving food to are worried about sending their children to school because they have no food to put in their lunch boxes," she said. "They are worried that Child and Family Services will take their children if that is reported, it would be classified as neglect.

"And we have actually seen a rise in the number of children going into foster care because of neglect, because their mothers can't feed them. And I don't see that changing anytime soon, food prices are still rising."

Currently, 142 children are in foster care and there's a pressing desperate need for new foster parents.

Meanwhile pensioners on a fixed income are not doing much better.

Claudette Flemming, of Age Concern, said she too was worried about the impact rising prices are having on Bermudians.

"People on fixed incomes are having to make tough choices and usually when people have to decide to pay either the food or fuel bill they will start by cutting down on the amount of food they eat," she said. "We are currently doing a survey of Bermuda's ageing population and that is one of our questions: 'Have you ever sacrificed buying food to pay a bill?'

"We want to have an idea of how pensioners are doing so we can help them, we need to hear from people in order to know how to fix a problem."