One in three households going hungry as ‘food insecurity’ piles pressure on families

Hunger in Australia is increasingly impacting working families and households with children, according to a new report.

The cost of living crisis has left 3.6 million households - or one in three - struggling to put food on the table during the past year, figures from Foodbank Australia show.

The figure represents an increase of 100,000 households compared with 2025.

The new analyis shows food insecurity is increasingly impacting middle-income Australians, with 37 per cent of households, earning a yearly salary from $33,800 to $90,999 affected.

Of this group, 23 per cent say they face a “severe” shortage of food.

Foodbank Australia chief executive Kylea Tink says the crisis is now engulfing families who’d never have expected to struggle in keeping the wolf from the door.

“Hunger is no longer confined to the margins, it is impacting middle Australia,” she said.

“A wage used to be what kept food on the table, but for a growing number of working Australians their pay packet no longer stretches that far.”

The hardest hit also included families with children, with 45 per cent reporting food insecurity. The figure jumped to 60 per cent among single-parent households.

“We’re hearing of parents going without just to make sure their children can eat. This is unacceptable and we must do something about it,” Tink said.

To help tackle the problem of children going hungry, Foodbank is calling for a national schools breakfast program to be launched.

Charities working with state governments and corporate donors currently bridge the gap by running thousands of school breakfast services across Australia.

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But with about three students in every school classroom going hungry, Foodbank says a whole of Australia approach is required.

“A national school breakfast program would mean one less meal for food insecure families to worry about, and parents can be confident their children are starting every school day with a nutritious meal,” Tink said.

Foodbank says it welcomes the $700,000 in “surge funding” announced by the federal government in October to tackle food insecurity.

But Tink warns the health, education and agricultural sectors need to work closer for figures to fall.

“Sadly, hunger has become part of the Australian story. If one person from every food insecure household stood in a queue one metre apart, that line would stretch from Sydney to Perth,” she said.

“In a country like Australia, we should not accept this as our new normal.” 

How to gain (or give) help locally

If you or someone you know is struggling to put food on the table, you don’t have to wait until you are in a crisis. Organisations such as The Salvation Army, Vinnies, local churches, and neighbourhood pantries provide help.

Most local services can be found on Facebook or via the Government Food Relief Service Finder, simply by entering your postcode.