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Australia used to be promoted as the land of milk and honey but many can no longer afford either and hunger has become a way of life.
One in three households are going hungry to a greater or lesser extent, while food insecurity is a reality in middle-income households – the bracket that largely shapes Australian politics. Two out of five households earning between $33,800 and $90,999 experience difficulty putting food on the table.
The latest Foodbank Hunger Report shows 3.6 million households are suffering food insecurity. It’s a rise of 100,000 on 2025.
The report also finds more than half of First Nations households have food insecurity, 40 per cent in the severe category. Renters, the disabled, young people and people on low incomes are also affected. Households are reducing meal food portions and cutting spending on heating/cooling, soap and toothpaste and haircuts.
Foodbank surveyed almost 6000 Australians, using the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s definition of food insecurity, which is when a person does not have regular access to sufficient nourishment.
The number of Australians experiencing severe food insecurity had grown steadily since Foodbank started surveying in 2012 but the COVID-19 years turbocharged the deprivations and by 2023 they topped 3.7 million households.
Australia has hardly recovered from the pandemic years and hunger still stalks many households. The cost-of-living crisis is now entrenching food insecurity. Food prices remain elevated, housing costs continue to increase, fuel costs are on the rise, and utility bills consume a greater share of the household budget. Even small financial shocks can push households into crisis. What was once financial stress is becoming food insecurity.
Foodbank says food insecurity is not only changing how Australians live but is reshaping how they view the future. More than one-third of Australians expect their financial situation to deteriorate over the next 12 months. Expectations about the future are closely linked to households’ current financial circumstances, with pessimism greatest among those already under pressure. Unsurprisingly, confidence declines as financial pressure intensifies. Some 50 per cent of households struggling to manage on their current income expect their circumstances to worsen but that jumps to 61 per cent among those finding it very difficult to get by.
Foodbank Australia chief executive Kylea Tink warns that the cost of living and rising interest rates are forcing people to choose between shelter, power, employment and hunger. “Food is a little bit like the canary in the coal mine. The first thing that a household will compromise on when they start to really feel financial pressure is the food that they’re bringing in,” she says.
The increase in severe food insecurity is a warning sign for Australia. The Foodbank report is a stark reminder of the impact cost-of-living pressures are having on our most vulnerable citizens. It’s also something that has consequences for everyone – the wider the gap between the haves and have-nots, the more impact it will have on our social cohesion and stability.
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