Nearly a Million Australian Households Face Food Insecurity

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Nearly a million Australian households are struggling to secure enough food, with parents skipping meals or going entire days without food to shield children from hunger, according to a report from Foodbank Australia released on Tuesday.

More than 870,000 households earning less than A$30,000 ($20,200) a year are experiencing severe food insecurity, up 5% from 2022, the report reveals. Single-parent families are the hardest hit, with over two-thirds facing food shortages.

> "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," said Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey.

According to Casey, families that were just getting by are now reaching their limits and making unimaginable choices due to the rising costs of housing, power, and groceries. However, some households have recently shown signs of improvement.

Australian families are facing stubborn inflation and increased housing costs following a surge in migration since COVID-19 border rules ended in 2022, adding pressure to an already tight rental market.

Although headline inflation has moderated to 2.7% in August, partly aided by government rebates on electricity, the Reserve Bank of Australia noted that this measure is volatile and would look through its temporary effects.

The report also highlighted that more families seek assistance from food relief charities as family and friends are less able to help. More than half of low-income households are seeking support more often than a year ago, while those receiving help from family and friends fell from 32% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.