Australians struggle to put food on the table with some resorting to theft amid high cost-of-living

Australians are finding it harder to feed their families, with 3.7 million households going hungry in the past year.

Foodbank Australia’s latest report released on Monday, has found 36 per cent of all households are struggling with food insecurity – an increase of 383,000 from a year earlier.

Of those, 77 per cent cent are facing it for the first time.

The Foodbank Hunger Report 2023 examined data taken from almost 4500 Australians and found 60 per cent of the households in trouble had someone living there in paid work.

The researchers say the profile of those struggling is changing, with many working in mid-to-high earning jobs and living in metro areas.

The meat section at a Woolworths
People on a budget are cutting back on food – with produce and proteins first on the chopping block.
Foodbank’s CEO Brianna Casey says younger generations are facing the tightest squeeze, with two-thirds of those impacted by food insecurity aged under 45.

The rising cost of housing and the price of food is pushing people into a situation where they have to sacrifice to make ends meet.

“We have an increasing number of people struggling to secure adequate food and the housing crisis is only exacerbating the problem, with half of all renters and a third of all mortgage holders food insecure in the last 12 months,” she said.

The survey found 94 per cent of participants said cutting spending on food and groceries was the first thing they did to save money, with produce and proteins first on the chopping block.

The nation is facing a cost of living crisis pumped up by increasing costs for everything including petrol and food, and a supercharged housing market leaving younger generations facing a lifetime of renting.

Interest rates have climbed significantly in the last 12 months, leading to large increases in rent and mortgages, with the possibility of another rise before Christmas.

Ms Casey said the charity’s research found 48 per cent of the total population now feels anxious about, or struggles to consistently get enough food.

“We are fast heading towards a reality where more than half the population will know what food insecurity is because they are experiencing it themselves,” she said.

“In a country where we produce enough food to feed our population three times over, this should not be happening.”

In Anti-Poverty Week Foodbank is calling on the federal government to do more to address the growing rates of poverty in Australia.

Some Australians are turning to low-level crime to survive, as households buckle under the soaring cost-of-living.

More than one-in-10 Australians, or about 2.4 million people, confessed to having stolen from businesses in the past year as they reached financial breaking point, a survey of more than 1000 respondents from comparison website Finder has revealed.

Over the past year, the average monthly Australian grocery bill has risen by seven per cent to $740, according to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.

The most common theft is happening at supermarket checkouts, with five per cent of people walking out without paying for groceries.

Four per cent of respondents admit to deliberately scanning an item as another cheaper product at self-service checkouts.

Many Australian households are financially strapped with a rising number in survival mode, the head of consumer research at Finder Graham Cooke said.

“Aussies are clearly struggling to afford basic necessities and some are turning to criminal behaviour to get by,” Mr Cooke said.

The survey was released on the same day as Foodbank Australia’s latest report which found 36 per cent of all households are struggling with food insecurity – an increase of 383,000 from the previous year.

The Foodbank Hunger Report 2023 found 3.7 million households went hungry in the past year.

Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker found four per cent of Australians had driven away from the bowser without paying for fuel in the past year, while two per cent had left a cafe or restaurant without paying.

Gen Z are more likely than their older counterparts to take basics such as food or fuel without paying, with about one-in-four respondents admitting to stealing.

More than 10 per cent of Gen Z had left the supermarket without paying for an item, compared to three per cent for Gen X – which has prompted shops to ramp up monitoring at the checkout.

Mr Cooke advised those struggling to afford food to visit food banks rather than risk getting a criminal record.

“With supermarket profits up dramatically, it would be understandable for consumers to expect their retailers to do more to help them get through the cost of living crisis,” he said.