A recent study has revealed that almost half of Australia’s low-income families face food insecurity.
Food Bank Hunger 2024 reports released today show that one in three Australian households experience food insecurity.
More than two million people face food insecurity and it has also been revealed that some people are regularly skipping main meals.
It is also stated that this study has been conducted using more than 4000 Australians who visit charity organizations every year.
Of these, two million are experiencing “severe” food insecurity, meaning that family members are regularly skip meals or even go whole days without eating.
Overall, food insecurity has decreased slightly from last year’s report, when 3.7 million households were experiencing food insecurity.
However, the situation amongst low-income earners has hit new record highs.
For those earning less than $30,000 a year, 48 per cent are experiencing food insecurity – up five per cent from two years ago.
More than a third (34 per cent) this is “severe”.
Almost all of this most severely affected group (97 per cent) worried about food running out before they had money to buy more, and for 79 per cent this had become a reality.
Half of the adults in these households went entire days without food, with parents often reporting going hungry to ensure their children are fed.