TRANSCRIPT
Australia's cost-of-living pressures are many and varied and this year's Foodbank Australia Hunger Report has found the cost of food and groceries is the number one cause of food insecurity and almost half the population is concerned about going hungry.
The report reveals 48 per cent of the general population is anxious or worried about getting consistent access to adequate food.
Food insecurity is when a person lacks regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.
47-year-old Karen says she knows exactly what that's like.
Karen is on a disability pension and is single parent with a daughter to feed.
She says she and her child have to make many sacrifices to survive, including not being able to afford out of school sporting activities such a swimming.
Karen says she has to prioritise each and every fortnight to pay her bills.
"We don't get like sweets. We get basically bread, milk, the things for meals that you have like at lunch and dinner and that, rarely snacks and that anymore. We've rarely gone out for junk food, we go once a fortnight, if we're lucky, and that's only after everything else has been paid and then in saying that as well then there's bills and things that don't get paid, they have to get put off to the next fortnight."
Foodbank Australia says 3.7 million households experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months which is a 3 per cent increase on last year.
Chief Executive Brianna Casey says the cost-of-living crisis is now so severe that having a job no longer provides a guarantee against going hungry.
"We know we are seeing people who are younger. We know we are seeing people who are employed. A job is no longer a defence or a shield against food insecurity and it's presenting Foodbank with some really big challenges in terms of meeting the demand for food relief but also having to change the way that we can reach communities given that we are now dealing with so many young professionals."
As Karen sees it, it's now only the wealthy-what she calls the one percenters-that are not feeling the pressure of higher prices.
"You hear about it on the news and that, people with six figure incomes can't afford food because they're paying off really high mortgages and then if you've got kids all the things with them. It just becomes a never-ending cycle of like poverty for everyone except for the one percenters."
The Foodbank Australia Hunger Report reveals 56 per cent of the population report that the cost-of-living crisis is by far their most important concern.
But for those enduring food insecurity, the cost of food and shelter is now overwhelming them.
79 per cent of food insecure households reported the rising cost-of-living as the biggest reason for their hardship.
That's up from 64 per cent in 2022.
Karen says the Foodbank in her area is a great source of support.
"I go chat with the people at Foodbank or with the counsellors that they have on offer down here. Foodbank has been invaluable to us like I don't know how we would have coped if we hadn't have had them and you know had the resources that they have on offer available to us."
