Curtin University Survey reveals
food stress in WA

 

How can it be that in a state as rich as WA we have individuals who regularly skip meals and families who struggle on an on-going basis to feed their children? 

It is a crisis that continues to get worse and worse. 

More and more households continue to struggle to cover the cost of groceries, interest rates have risen to heights not seen in more than a decade, rental prices continue to skyrocket, and utility bill prices are enough to make you shudder each time they come in. 

What was once thought to be a problem that affected only a small portion of our community now seems to be touching all of us. It seems that nobody is exempt from dreading that figure that pops up on the till once the grocery shop is done. In a Foodbank Customer experience study conducted by Curtin University in 2023, the findings showed that 72% of people interviewed ran out of food and didn’t have money to get more in the last 12 months. A huge 63% cut the size of their meal or skipped meals because there wasn’t enough money for food. 

Foodbank has been a lifeline in the literal sense for one respondent who said, “I just didn’t even want to get up in the morning to see my children’s faces. I’d rather just lock myself in the room than hear ‘mum what do we have for dinner?’… It has taken everything out of me. If it wasn’t for Foodbank I just wouldn’t eat and I probably wouldn’t be here because it was too much for me” 

With 81% of people interviewed stating that they felt as though their finances controlled their lives, it’s no wonder that the queues at Foodbanks across WA continue to get longer. While there used to be a lot of stigma attached to seeking help, the benefits of the Foodbank service seem to be outweighing that, “You feel like a human. You feel like you have the power to choose what you want to feed your children. You’re given the power, the opportunity, the respect to do what you want to cook. So, it’s something that I have never experienced so I’m grateful.” 

Faced with an impossible choice of food first or rent or mortgage, the consensus is clear – “my mortgage and bills have to come first, my food comes last” and “I’ve got no choice but to spend what I would have spent on food on interest rates.” 

Not many people would think that in a state as rich as Western Australia you would have to ask difficult questions such as, should I pay my rent or keep my electricity on or eat – a basic human right. 86% of people interviewed are worried about whether their money will last until the next pay cycle, it’s difficult to hear how customers are trying to cope – “that’s somewhat unnerving cause I think well, what might happen next? You know, are we gonna have to turn the electric off and live by candlelight?”   

Hearing comments such as “I see people my age now [70+], like, you know, food-banking and they just get back into cars with all their clothes and everything in there, and it’s just horrifying”, are just as shocking but more common than ever before. 

If you or anyone you know is in need of food assistance, please visit our website.  

Thank you to Curtin University and its researchers Ned Marshall, Carolyn Bendotti, Jessica Charlesworth, Professor Barbara Mullan, & Dr Chloe Maxwell-Smith for compiling the report.