Foodbank worries for Aussie Christmas as donations dwindle amid rising demand

Australia's largest hunger relief charity is warning demand for its services continues to rise beyond the organisation's capacity to meet, with donations simultaneously declining by a worrying 15 per cent year on year.

In 2023, Foodbank Australia delivered an incredible 92 million meals to combat food insecurity across the country. However, it warns that demand still outpaces supply, leaving many around the country without adequate food resources. According to Foodbank's Hunger Report 2024, Victorians are among the hardest hit, facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity.

The demand for food has increased significantly in the state this year, largely due to rising living costs, which are impacting more Australians than ever before. Many Aussies, including those previously in secure financial positions, are now struggling to afford basic necessities.

At the beginning of 2023 for example, 50,000 Victorians asked for help from Foodbank. Jump forward to 2024, and that figure is expected to jump to 70,000 this Christmas.

Grandfather praises Foodbank support amid rising grocery prices

Ballarat local Darryl Weckert said that he was never traditionally somebody that would seek the services of a charity. But after his wife became ill a few years back, he was left with no other option, while needing to help provide for his five children and 15 grandkids.

The grandfather has been attending a local pop-up market supported by Foodbank, where he said he can walk out with 20 kilograms worth of donated groceries to share with his whole family, he told the ABC.

By contrast, Weckert said "you can spend $50 at the supermarket and basically come out with nothing".

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"We share this food with family and friends, and it can last us a week and a half. It's a great thing for the local community," he said. "And there's a lot of families around us that have reached out and done the same thing."

Weckert's sentiment is reflected in the official figures, with Foodbank revealing nearly two million Australian households — a staggering 19 per cent — experienced severe food insecurity in the past 12 months amid rising food inflation.

Concerning statistics when it comes to food insecurity in Australia

On social media, there are dozens of images showing huge queues forming for food services around Victoria, but also in other major Australian cities.

Worrying about food prices remained a major problem for many food-insecure households, according to the Foodbank report, with 97 per cent worried about running out of meals before having enough money to buy more. More than 90 per cent said they were unable to afford balanced meals.

Overall in Australia, the charity found that 32 per cent of households (roughly 3.4 million households) experienced food insecurity — either moderate or severe — in the last 12 months. Though, in a positive sign, insecurity appears to be recovering from a high in 2023 (36 per cent), returning to relatively similar levels seen in 2022 (33 per cent).

However those figures still remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2019 for example, Foodbank said 21 per cent of Australians were experiencing food insecurity, equivalent to more than 5 million people.

Ballarat Foodbank manager Katrina Gibbs told the ABC the charity just "can't keep up".

"We're hoping to get funding to open it up to community members," Gibbs said. "We're getting more and more people who haven't reached out before, people that might have two incomes but have higher [expenses]."

The charity said people who once donated are now turning to them for help.

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