A good diet is essential for a healthy lifestyle, but one in four Australians see nutritious food as a luxury they can't always afford. In this cost of living crisis, the number of families experiencing food insecurity is growing.
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00:00 Sarah Walker is doing her best to eat healthy.
00:06 Sweet potato chips.
00:07 But in this cost of living crisis, it's not easy.
00:10 We rarely eat meat and fruit and vegetables is very dependent on what we get from food relief.
00:19 Last year, the 51-year-old mother was diagnosed with malnutrition.
00:23 She didn't have enough money to pay her bills,
00:25 so was trying to save money by eating cheap processed food and skiffing meals so her family had enough to eat.
00:32 What food insecurity means is poor nutrition.
00:35 Nutritionist food costs more than crap food does.
00:41 It's a lot cheaper to buy two-minute noodles than it is to buy fruit and veg.
00:47 Sarah is just one of millions of Australians suffering from food insecurity.
00:52 We think that one in four families are suffering from food insecurity in Australia.
00:57 Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the cost of food has been rising faster than almost every other part of the household budget,
01:04 increasing by almost 8% in the past year.
01:07 And that rise is having a significant impact.
01:10 A recent survey found one in ten pregnant women is going hungry.
01:14 A separate study found one in two households with children couldn't afford all the food they need.
01:20 Researchers have to rely on this patchwork of private studies
01:24 because unlike other governments, Australia doesn't regularly collect data on household food security.
01:30 This is definitely a hidden problem in Australia.
01:33 If you don't measure it, you can't mend it.
01:36 The most recent food security data from the ABS is more than a decade old.
01:41 In the US, for example, they monitor food insecurity every year.
01:45 In Canada, it's every second year.
01:47 Dietitians say national leadership is needed so all Australians can get the food they need.
01:53 So at the moment we don't have a national nutrition policy.
01:56 The policy that we do have is 30 years old.
01:58 If we had a national food and nutrition policy, what we could do is actually link up food systems with health systems.
02:06 The Department of Health says the National Food and Nutrition Policy, which was published in 1992,
02:12 is currently being updated and should be completed next year.
02:16 It also says it's working on a policy document to address food security in priority populations by 2030.
02:23 Sarah says change needs to come much sooner.
02:27 People in this country are starving.
02:29 Sarah started her own charity to feed families in her area,
02:35 but says grassroots organisations won't solve the problem.
02:38 We shouldn't be having third world conditions in a country that's as rich as Australia.
02:43 Apply for help to tackle a severe problem.
02:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]