Annual Foodbank report highlights growing hunger crisis

The Foodbank Hunger Report was recently released and highlights the growing hunger crisis facing everyday Australians.

The report states one in six Australians has insufficient access to affordable and nutritious food leaving over 644,000 people seeking food relief each month. A further 43,000 Aussies are unsuccessfully seeking help each month due to demand for food relief outpacing supply.

The report also reveals that of those who have insufficient access to vital food, 28 per cent say it’s a regular occurrence. In 2015, there was an 8 per cent increase in the number of people seeking food relief.

Foodbank Australia CEO Geoff Starr said the report also highlights that the face of hunger is diverse.

“Those who seek food relief are not just people living rough on the streets,” said Starr. “Some of the common reasons people find themselves seeking food relief is a lack of funds to pay utility bills, rent and accommodation. For many working families, adequate and nutritious food has become a luxury as opposed to a necessity.”

Starr said it is the overall commitment of Foodbank Australia that everyone has access at all times to nutritious and healthy foods.

“Whilst Foodbank provides food for 166,000 meals a day to over 2,400 charities for distribution to people in need, it’s simply not enough,” he said.

The Foodbank Hunger Report provides an annual snap shot of the problem of food insecurity in Australia. The 2016 report is a summary of two pieces of research undertaken amongst Foodbank stakeholders in the first half of the year.