The first time *Andrew and his family had to use the services of Foodbank, he says he felt a sense of guilt about accessing their help.
“We went from one extreme to the other so I felt a bit of guilt at the start, thinking ‘should we really be doing this?’ but you really don’t have a choice, so that feeling passed pretty quickly because if it wasn’t for these services, you just wouldn’t be able to survive,” he says.
Andrew and his family experienced financial distress due to a failed business venture overseas. When he and his wife returned to Australia, along with their three children, they found it incredibly difficult to obtain employment.
With no stable income, Andrew and his family were forced to drastically change their spending habits – from scouring supermarkets for specials, to shopping for new clothes in Goodwill.
“When you don’t have a lot of money, or you’re in a position where your funds are limited, you’re looking for places where you can buy things cheaper basically,” he says.
The family moved into rental accommodation with his parents, who both receive the pension.
“If anyone is trying to survive just as a sole person on a pension, they find it tricky enough, but with a family all pooled together it's doable but it’s really, really tough.”
Thankfully the services of Foodbank, who in Australia provide food and grocery relief to 2,929 front-line charities and 3,220 school breakfast programs, have enabled Andrew and his family to continue to put nutritious meals on the table.
“These services are so vital for those who need it because if they are not there it’s a problem, I’m so grateful they are there, we would definitely be in a far worse position if they weren’t.”
Budgets getting tighter
The cost-of-living crisis is a visible sign of a deeper issue – people are not keeping up with growing expenses.
Sixty-six per cent of South Australians ranked the cost-of-living crisis as their main concerns in the Flinders Wicked Problems Report.
It’s hard to believe that in a prosperous country like Australia - one of the world's leading food producers and exporters - people, including children, could be going hungry.
A survey of charities, conducted by food rescue organisation OzHarvest, showed 77 per cent of charities had experienced an increase in people seeking food in the past year.
OzHarvest estimates 50,000 people are being turned away every month because charities just cannot keep up with demand.
In Canberra, the number of people requesting food support for the first time was 37 per cent — the highest rate in the country.
Over the past few decades, a larger share of family budgets has needed to be spent on essential costs such as rent or mortgage repayments, utilities, and insurance. This has left less flexibility for everyday expenses, making cost-of-living pressures a bigger, system-wide problem.
It’s not an easy problem to solve, which is why it needs urgent attention and action. We must ensure access to essential services for all Australians, helping through financial assistance, food relief, and energy bill help whilst focusing on the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis and engaging with the deep economic and social reform needed for a prosperous future.
It's all about finding smart, creative ways to improve our communities and make life better for everyone.
Turning surplus into sustenance
In the heart of South Australia, an innovative project is making waves by transforming surplus fresh food into nutritious meals for those in need. This groundbreaking initiative, led by Flinders University in collaboration with Foodbank SA and Green Industries SA, is tackling the pressing issue of food insecurity while reducing food waste.
Focusing on creating a social enterprise that turns extra produce into long-lasting, shelf-stable foods not only ensures that nutritious meals reach those who need them most, but also offers training opportunities in food production, helping people build valuable skills and find employment.
“This project is already making a significant difference; by working together, we are not only reducing food waste but also ensuring that families have access to nutritious meals,” says Professor Svetlana Bogomolova from Flinders University’s Centre for Social Impact.
“It’s about creating real, positive change in our community.”
Tackling food insecurity is a complex task, but these kinds of approaches provide the sort of out-of-the-box thinking that we need to be driving to address these issues to ensure that no one has to go hungry in our land of plenty.
