'Alarming' new finding highlights harsh reality for struggling Australians: 'We warned you'
Some battling Aussies say they're skipping meals and sometimes for going days without food as they struggle to make ends meet.
Some of Australia's most vulnerable residents have admitted to frequently skipping meals, sometimes enduring days without food, as the rising cost of living continues to strain low-income households.
According to an "alarming" new report conducted by charity Foodbank, families already doing it tough have now entered worrying new territory as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.
It's estimated over 870,000 (48 per cent) of low-income households, earning less than $30,000 a year, are experiencing food insecurity in Australia — the highest rate since the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, up five per cent since 2022. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey said "it’s going to take months, if not years, for many families" to bounce back.
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In fact, according to the Foodbank Hunger Report 2024, released today, almost 60 per cent of these households are experiencing the most extreme level of hardship, regularly skipping meals or going entire days without food. Single-parent households are the hardest hit, with two thirds reporting they regularly go without eating.
In addition, some 70 per cent of respondents admitted to feeling insecure about their next meal, with those in the regions feeling the strain more acutely than their city-dwelling counterparts. Casey said families are now "reaching their limits".
"It is staggering to think that food insecurity was experienced in almost 1 in 3 (32 per cent) Australian households at some point in the last 12 months," she told Yahoo. "People in these households reduced the quality, variety or desirability of their food; skipped meals or at worst, went entire days at a time without eating.
"We warned at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis that low-income households were always going to suffer first, worst and for the longest and these findings confirm this. We are seeing families that were just getting by, now reaching their limits and making unimaginable choices."
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Unsurprisingly, Casey said families are being forced to "cut back on the most basic of essentials — nutritious food", because of the combination of higher costs of housing and essential goods, particularly food and utilities. "While wages fail to keep pace — all of which are entirely outside of the control of most Australian households," she said.
Over half of food insecure households said they're receiving food relief more often than a year ago, though food insecure households receiving help from friends and family has dropped from 32 per cent in 2023 to 25 per cent in 2024.
"This is an alarming statistic that demonstrates just how desperate the situation has become for those who were once a lifeline, suddenly finding themselves living pay to pay, watching every dollar and sadly, no longer in a position to extend help to loved ones and friends," Casey said.
"We know it’s going to take months, if not years, for many families to bounce back. We will continue to wrap our arms around our communities for as long as it takes, doing our bit to help nutritious, culturally appropriate food get to as many struggling households as possible."
Foodbank urges anyone under pressure to locate their closest food relief outlet at foodbank.org.au.
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