Cost-of-living pressures continue to drive surge in demand for food charities

The cost-of-living crunch is seeing a big surge in demand for the services of food charities from people struggling to put food on the table.

Transcript

00:00There's an unprecedented level of need across Australia this winter and really in every

00:07season.

00:08The cost of living really begins to have a devastating impact on so many Australian families.

00:14Here at Foodbank Victoria, 65,000 families each day, 65,000 people are being fed every

00:22single day.

00:23So many Australians who haven't needed help are coming to this service this year, really

00:28asking for help and getting food on the table for their kids and their communities.

00:33I'm joined now by Dave McNamara, who's the CEO of Foodbank Victoria.

00:36Dave, great to talk to you.

00:38We can see it's a hive of activity here.

00:40What does a typical morning look like for you at Foodbank?

00:44It looks like this.

00:45It looks like us welcoming around 100 volunteers every day, our staff bringing food in, sorting

00:51it, packing orders and shipping it out.

00:54There's amazing volunteers behind you.

00:56You must be so proud of the work that they do here, just coming to help their neighbours

01:00and the communities in need.

01:02Yeah, I think it's humbling, really, the gratitude that we have here.

01:06And it really is, it demonstrates community.

01:10It's people recognising that other people are doing it tough and finding that this is

01:14the way that they can help put food on families' tables.

01:18What are you seeing this winter in particular for families who perhaps haven't needed to

01:23come for help before but are really struggling at the moment?

01:26I think this is the culmination of years of disadvantage seeping through the community.

01:33It's a disaster, but it's a hidden disaster.

01:36It's not like Black Summer where you could see it, taste it, feel it.

01:40This is a disaster that's behind closed doors.

01:43This is affecting too many families around Australia, too many households, kids going

01:48to bed without food, parents going to bed without food, kids turning up to school not

01:53ready to engage in learning and get the best out of their lives.