The grocery discount increasing crowds of shoppers are queuing in the same aisle for daily

A Sydney local has been met by a confronting scene at a local supermarket over the weekend.

Tina, who lives in the Drummoyne area of Sydney, sent a photo of the scene to 2GB's Ben Fordham Live, writing: "What a true sign of the times. This was taken at a local supermarket over the weekend."

The photo shows a long line of grocery shoppers waiting for meat items to be discounted at the end of the day.

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"I've seen this happening over time since COVID," Tina told Fordham on this morning's show, adding that she has also witnessed shoppers following supermarket employees pushing trolleys loaded with discounted items about to be placed on shelves.

"This afternoon I couldn't believe what I was seeing because I've seen it happen but then I noticed there were so many more people there and I thought, 'Is this a cost of living thing? Is this people knowing this is happening?' And then they're approaching or are there at that time of the day hoping to snag a bargain," she said.

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Fordham commented that he "can't blame them" owing to how food prices have increased.

Food prices rose 3.3 per cent over the 12 months to the September 2024 quarter alone, unchanged from the previous quarter, according to the ABS.

Research by Compare the Market found the average Aussie now spends $213.64 on groceries every week, equal to an 11.5 percent increase or an extra $21.98 weekly compared to the $191.66 they were paying in January 2024.

Tina said her own grocery bill has increased by $50 per week in the past year.

"And I can understand why people would be doing that," she added.

Shoppers regularly wait for items to be discounted in meat sections of supermarkets as well as the bakery aisle.

"I've seen them in the dairy aisle with milk ... people with four or five two-litre bottles of milk that's been heavily reduced," she said

"It's a fairly affluent area in Sydney and I wondered to myself if this is happening in a fairly affluent area, what's going on in other areas of Sydney were people are doing it really, really tough," she said.

Fordham pointed out the various ages of shoppers in the photo, showing how cost of living increases are impacting all Australians.

Reverend Bill Crews who runs the Reverend Bill Crews Foundation told Fordham he isn't shocked to hear about what Tina has witnessed.

"Life's pretty tough for a lot of people today, and it really began around COVID and it's been getting worse and worse since COVID," he said.

Reverend Crews said his organisation gives out "7000 food hampers at Christmas to needy families" and they've had to "keep that going" beyond Christmas as Aussies continue to struggle.

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"So as well as giving out parcels of food to homeless people, we have to give out hampers to needy families and we put in them the things they really need," he said.

He spoke of one woman who donated food to the organisation, only for a mother-of-two to arrive at the same time. Reverend Crews witnessed the woman hand the food directly to the mum.

"And I thought, 'That's Australia. That's the heart of Australia, you know?'

Find your local food bank services via the Food Bank Australia website to make a donation or access food services.

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