Food-relief agencies across Australia are being forced to turn people away as demand outstrips available food and operational capacity, new SecondBite research has found. A national survey of 405 SecondBite charity partners found two in three (67 per cent) had turned people away, while almost all (94 per cent) reported increased demand over the past twelve months.The findings reveal growing demand from households often assumed to be coping, alongside critical shortages of food:
- 82 per cent of agencies reported increased demand from families with children
- 75 per cent reported increased demand from single parents
- 58 per cent reported increased demand from working people
- 54 per cent reported insufficient fresh food was a barrier to meeting demand
- 50 per cent reported insufficient food overall
- 32 per cent reported insufficient protein
SecondBite CEO Daniel Moorfield said the findings showed food insecurity was affecting people across a widening range of circumstances.
“These findings show food insecurity is not confined to people in the circumstances many Australians might expect. Food-relief agencies are increasingly supporting working people and families with children who are doing everything they can but still cannot consistently afford enough food,” Mr Moorfield commented. “When 94 per cent of agencies report rising demand and two in three cannot meet all the need they are seeing, it is clear that frontline services are under immense pressure. Charity partners tell us they are seeing people seek food assistance for the first time, often after exhausting every other option. These findings challenge outdated assumptions about who experiences food insecurity in Australia.”
Together, the 405 responding agencies redistribute food to more than 5,000 additional agencies and support an estimated 427,000 people each week using food received from SecondBite and other sources. On average, food supplied by SecondBite accounts for 45.7 per cent of the food volume distributed by surveyed agencies.The research has been released ahead of SecondBite Giving Day this Thursday 15 October, one day before World Food Day. SecondBite aims to raise enough on Giving Day to help provide 800,000 meals for people experiencing food insecurity. Every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000, thanks to the Eric and Elizabeth Gross Foundation, Mondelez, PonyUp for Good and Abercrombys. SecondBite ambassador Catie Gett said her own experience of living below the poverty line had shown her how quickly circumstances could change.
“There can be stigma attached to asking for help, particularly when people feel they are taking resources from people experiencing greater hardship,” Ms Gett commented. “I know what it is like to have to make money stretch. My knowledge of food and nutrition helped me keep myself and my daughter fed during financially difficult times.Many families, particularly single parent families, are juggling rent or mortgage, the costs of raising children, car costs – often food budgets are squeezed and missing meals is the first lever to pull.”
Mr Moorfield said the Giving Day would help SecondBite rescue and distribute more good food to communities across Australia.
“The food itself is donated, but getting it safely from farms, manufacturers and retailers to people who need it requires trucks, cold storage, warehouses and skilled teams. Funding is what turns rescued food into reliable food relief,” Moorfield commented. “SecondBite Giving Day gives Australians a practical way to respond. With donations doubled, every contribution can go twice as far in helping us get food to people who need it most.”