Cost of living pressures are forcing record numbers of Australians to turn to charities for food.
Foodbank Victoria chief executive David McNamara said the national charity, facing unprecedented demand, was struggling to distribute enough food to meet the needs of the hungry.
He said the nation’s biggest secret was how many Australians were going hungry each day.
“Last year, 525,000 Victorians were looking for emergency food relief – around a third of those are children.”
Foodbank collects more than $180 million worth of supplies from the Australian food and grocery industry each year, about 80 per cent of it staples such as milk, bread, fruit and vegetables.
The charity distributes thousands of kilograms of food each day from its 5500-square-metre Yarraville warehouse.
Foodbank last month marked the distribution of 200 million meals over a decade, about 50 million of these in Victoria.
“It’s disappointing that it’s necessary to mark that milestone,” Mr McNamara said.
Last year, Foodbank provided enough food for 39 million meals – a 23 per cent increase on the previous year – but supply still barely keeps up with spiralling demand.
Whereas demand was once driven by the homeless and jobless, the working poor struggling to make ends meet are now most likely to be seeking help putting food on the table. Mr McNamara believed a downturn in manufacturing and measures proposed in last week’s federal budget would lead to an escalation in the number of families in the west needing food from charities.
“Agencies are already turning people away. We are looking at a pretty stark situation,” he said.
For more details, or to donate, visit www.foodbank.org.au.
