Thousands can't afford food
More than 60,000 WA families, including some on high incomes, are struggling to put food on the table because they cannot afford it, according to WA researchers.
The latest results from the WA Nutrition Monitoring Survey found that having enough money to buy food was not so much about level of income but the ability to manage money in an environment of increasingly higher living expenses.
Curtin University researchers found that those most struggling to buy enough food were people under age 35 and those on incomes of less than $40,000 - particularly those on incomes under $20,000.
People who ate fast food more than three times a week or suffered psychological problems such as depression were also more likely to run out of food.
Presenting the findings at the Public Health Association of Australia's annual conference in Perth yesterday, researcher Christina Pollard said while lack of food affected only a relatively small proportion of the population - about 4 per cent - it was still a major problem in WA.
"It's an important and significant issue because there are families and children implicated and these figures are likely to be the tip of the iceberg," she said.
"It's the reality for a lot of people and we need to get across the issue more, to find out the severity and the length of time people are facing this."
Ms Pollard said no one should face a lack of food in a country such as Australia, which produced enough food for everyone even though not everyone got it.
The study suggested access to food was not just dependent on income but also people's ability to save money.
Ms Pollard said people who struggled to afford food also tended to eat more junk food and takeaway.
"You can feed your kids really cheaply with unhealthy food and this is something we need to further research," she said.
