A new report released by the Greek branch of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), however, suggests children are among those hardest hit by the economic crisis.

According to the report, a growing number of parents with young children are struggling to make ends meet. As many as 439,000 children across the country live in households with incomes below the poverty level (470 euros per month). 

 

Twenty percent of these households cannot afford to cook a meal with chicken, meat or fish. The toll this is taking on children is clear to the teachers, who warn that incidents of children coming to school hungry are on the rise.

 

Meanwhile, another 20 percent of these struggling households are headed by a single parent. 

 

As regards living conditions, 37 percent of these families reside in homes that lack heating and 27 percent in homes that are damp and moldy. 

 

According to data recently published by the Hellenic Statistics Authority (Elstat), more than 400,000 households are jobless, meaning that no one in the family is employed. 

 

The country’s ombudsman recently announced that as many as 100,000 children in Greece are now working in order to contribute to the family income.