In 2020, COVID-19 has made life for vulnerable South Australians even more difficult.

While COVID-19 has impacted the lives of all Australians, those who were already vulnerable felt the effects just as quickly. Many live week to week and as a result are much less likely to have safeguards against sudden changes in the external environment.

Cost of living has consistently been the main reason Australians experience food stress, with people most likely to cite unexpected expenses or large bills (41%) and rent and mortgage payments (35%) as the most common reasons they are unable to afford enough food. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges as people’s lives have become more volatile and unpredictable.

Meet Lauren, Mother, 41

Lauren lives with her husband, and two children aged 7 and 13 years old.

Due to a chronic illness, Lauren is unable to work and her husband has struggled to find work, particularly through COVID-19. Lauren recalls the changes they have seen in their lives in 2020.

“I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, as a result we needed a reliable car to get to me my appointments. But once we paid our rego, petrol for appointments and bills it left us with very little for food”

Lauren advised that after the diagnoses with the extra expenses the family were really struggling and were unable to afford the essentials.

“We were worrying about where our next meal was coming from and how we would feed the kids”

“How do you tell your kids that we are struggling so much.  You want to be able to give them what they need but understandably that is hard being in this situation and so sick.”

The family have now been accessing referrals to the Foodbank Food Hub to access free and low cost food to help during their difficult time.

“A $40 to $50 voucher for the Food Hub keeps us going for around 2 weeks and is absolutely fantastic. The food that lasts for a whole fortnight, I don’t have to worry and takes away that stress for that time”

“It helps provide enough to make good meals and without it we wouldn’t be able to meet our children’s needs. With Foodbank we don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from, I don’t have to worry about we are going to feed the kids”.

“Foodbank is there, no matter what happens, I know I can access Foodbank and my kids won’t go hungry. It gives us extra funds for bills and so I can afford petrol for appointments.”

“Foodbank helps us immensely. Without Foodbank we just wouldn’t survive”.