Food relief charities reporting increase in demand
From people living in tents, to couples with full time jobs, food relief charities say the number of people coming to them for help continues to grow. In Adelaide, one organisation is opening the city's first free supermarket, offering fresh produce, pantry items and cooked meals rescued from local businesses to those struggling to pay their grocery bills.
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00:00A lifeline in a cost-of-living crisis.
00:05And would you like some fresh salmon?
00:07Myself and my partner are living in a tent at the moment down at Semaphore Caravan Park.
00:10It's been a bit hard, but things like this, when we're on low incomes, really help out
00:15a lot.
00:16Thank you so much.
00:18Here in Adelaide's inner west, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and an array of pantry
00:23staples are available for free.
00:25To be honest with you, unfortunately we woke up this morning in the caravan park and some
00:28people had broken in and stole some of the meals I'd already pre-made.
00:32For Max, who lives with Down Syndrome, it means better access to nutritious produce.
00:38We're really excited, aren't we Max?
00:41Our clients have a very low income, so they mainly live off their disability support pension
00:46and this just gives them opportunity and access to meals that wouldn't always be available
00:51for them.
00:52It's the first free supermarket in Adelaide, where food that would have otherwise gone
00:57to waste has been rescued from the supply chain and made available for people in need.
01:02Charities like OzHarvest say they're experiencing more demand than ever before, with people
01:07across the country struggling to put food on the table.
01:11In my 20 years of running OzHarvest, I have never seen the demand as great.
01:17The supermarket will be open during the day twice a week, but also one evening a week
01:22to support OzHarvest's newest cohort of people seeking food assistance, full-time workers.
01:29Couples that are holding down full-time jobs but are just struggling to pay rent, pay the
01:33bills, so allow them to go to work, come here afterwards and get some food.
01:38It follows the same model as a free supermarket set up in Sydney, where customers have increased
01:43from 150 to 500 a day.
01:46We deliver the equivalent of half a million meals a week out into the community and it's not enough.
01:56Nonetheless, a welcome initiative in a time where so many are doing it tough.