A DESPERATE mum says she’s exhausted and at breaking point from working three jobs and skipping meals so her three kids can eat.
Kate Worby, 29, is tired and hungry from keeping her family of five afloat.
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The pair, from Bideford in North Devon, have three children aged eight, four and almost one.
To put food on the table, Kate works as a carer and cleaner during the week and is a children’s entertainer at weekends for her own business Magical Guests.
Her partner Charles Skudder, 29, balances full-time university with running a valet business – he also worked nights as a carer before the local care home shut down.
The couple have no choice but to regularly skip meals so their children can eat and can only afford to heat the kids’ bedrooms.
Thanks to the rising cost of living, Kate even has to walk around the supermarket with a calculator to stick to their tight budget.
She told DevonLive: “We are forever trying to keep our heads above water like I’m sure it is for a lot of families.
“Everything is going up but wages are not matching it so we are having to make our money stretch even further.
“Physically we can’t do any more hours than we are already working.
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“We have not had a day off in goodness knows how long.
“It’s a constant battle in your head as you think, can I justify not taking an extra shift?
“Often we just do it because we have to. We are both just so stressed.”
She added: “The children will always come first.
“They get free school dinners but if they come home from school really hungry I will cook them a meal, even if it was for me and Charles, or I try to make the food stretch by bulking it out such as with frozen vegetables.
“When Charles and I are not eating enough it takes its toll. I am so tired as I have not eaten really in three days.
“We either don’t eat or between us have one meal a day, even if it’s just cheese on toast.
“It’s not enough, but it’s at least something. It’s a very real thing for a lot of families.
“I’m quite a savvy spender anyway so I will save where I can.
“I’m always looking for the best bargain for everything but it does mean we can’t do things like buying biscuits, for example, for the children to have as a snack. That’s not within the budget.
“Literally, we buy the basic everything such as potatoes and pasta. I have learnt to make my own things like sauces.
“It just means when you are going out shopping you can’t think that looks nice and just pick it up.
“I go with a list and get what’s on it. I walk around with a calculator on my phone so I know when we have reached our maximum budget.
“If it means I haven’t got a meal for say two nights I have to reevaluate what I have actually got and how you can stretch what you have in the basket.”
