Foodbank Hunger Report 2024

Food insecurity amongst Australia’s lowest-income households (below $30,000) continues to grow (48%), up 5% since 2022 when the cost-of-living crisis first hit. Since then, these households have experienced a significant decline in their financial resilience, with many finding it increasingly difficult to meet basic living expenses. The socioeconomic divide is expanding as ‘Aussie battlers’ struggle to stay afloat.

Compounding economic effects, outside the control of Australia’s low-income households, are driving the vicious cycle of food insecurity. Inflation has caused steep rises to the prices of essential goods, particularly food, housing and utilities, with wages failing to keep pace. This gap forces many households to cut back on essentials like nutritious food. Additionally, global supply chain disruptions and the impacts of climate change on agriculture have increased prices, disproportionately affecting low-income households.

Stagnant wage growth, particularly in low-income sectors, means even full-time workers struggle to make ends meet. Income support payments, including Jobseeker and related payments, have not kept up with inflation, exacerbating the financial strain on those already living below the poverty line. Low-income households remain trapped in a cycle of deprivation with limited ability to recover or improve their situation. Many of Australia’s most vulnerable households risk being permanently left behind.

More than half of all food insecure households in Australia (59%) are at the severe end of the food insecurity spectrum. This is 2 million households (2.3 million in 2023) in which people suffer disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake such as skipping meals or going entire days without eating, sometimes to protect other members of their household.

Think of the experience of your household in the last 12 months, to what extent are each of the following true?

2024 has been extremely difficult for severely food insecure households, with stress and worry about food a constant concern. Almost all of them worry about not having enough money to buy more if food runs out (97%) or are not being able to afford balanced meals for themselves or their family (93%). An alarming 79% of severely food insecure households have actually seen their food run out without enough money to purchase more and half (50%) report adults not eating for whole days because they can’t afford food.

Almost a third of all Australian households (32%) experienced some form of food insecurity (moderate to severe) at a point in the past 12 months. This means 3.4 million households have at the very least reduced the quality, variety or desirability of their food and at worst, run out of food so that household members go entire days without eating. This is a slight improvement on the overall rate of food insecurity in 2023 which was 3.7 million households (36%), but the situation has deteriorated for many households with deeply concerning pockets of hardship at historically high, or worsening, levels of food insecurity.

Almost half (48%) of those households living on less than $30,000 a year are now food insecure, up 5% since 2022 when the cost-of-living crisis first hit.

Single-parent households are facing a particularly alarming rate of hardship, with 69% facing food insecurity in the past 12 months, 41% reporting that it is severe. This is trending up (67% in 2023) contrary to two-parent households, where food insecurity decreased this year to 35% from 45% in 2023.

Food insecurity is being felt more acutely in the regions (37%) compared to metropolitan areas (30%).

Households with an annual income of over $95,000 report doing better this year compared to 2023. Unlike those in lower income brackets, the proportion of food insecure households dropped to 21% in 2024, down 7% on 2023.

Australian households continue to mitigate cost-of-living pressures by trying to save on everyday essentials such as food, groceries and energy use. Practical measures such as planning meals ahead of time and reducing spending on eating out are being taken, but more significant compromises and sacrifices are also being made in households experiencing severe food insecurity.

Households experiencing severe food insecurity are considerably more likely to reduce purchasing of essentials such as dairy products, fresh produce and protein. They are also more likely to cut back on cleaning or personal care products and other household items.

Another coping strategy is to rely on credit cards or Buy-Now-Pay-Later services to defer payments. This reliance on debt products to make ends meet by the most food insecure households further threatens their ability to ever recover financially.

Managing Cost-of-Living Pressures

Food relief charities are continuing to experience heightened demand, not only because of ongoing need in the community, but also due to an increasing awareness amongst those in food insecure households of where to seek support (47%, up 12% on 2023).

26% of food insecure households have accessed formal food relief in the past 12 months, up from 24% in 2023. This increase has been driven by those who are severely food insecure, 30% of whom have accessed help in 2024 vs 26% in 2023.

Additionally, over half (53%) of food insecure households reported they are receiving food relief more often (either much more or somewhat more) than a year ago.

The situation has become more desperate for many because family and friends, an important support net in the past, are now unable to help as they’re under strain themselves. Increasingly family and friends are no longer in a position to help fill the gap with only a quarter of food insecure households (25%) now receiving this help, down from a third (32%) in 2023. This makes the role of food relief organisations even more essential.