{"id":11245,"date":"2020-10-12T05:24:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-11T18:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foodbank.org.au\/2020\/10\/12\/36921-2\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T12:41:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T02:41:36","slug":"36921-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foodbank.org.au\/36921-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Foodbank bracing for a further rise in hunger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Foodbank bracing for a further rise in hunger<\/h2>\n

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12th<\/sup> OCTOBER 2020<\/strong>: Foodbank, Australia\u2019s leading food relief organisation, today reported that demand for food relief is up and believes it has not yet seen \u2018peak hunger\u2019 in the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

The organisation today published a special edition of its annual Foodbank Hunger Report <\/em><\/a>which revealed that, while government assistance measures such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper have provided much needed temporary relief, charities and food insecure Australians alike have an extreme sense of unease about the future as these measures are rolled back. More than one in three (35%) food insecure Australians receiving benefits don\u2019t know how they will cope or expect they will not cope well at all.<\/p>\n

Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey, said this year\u2019s report emphasises that COVID-19 is having a profound effect on the food security of Australians. \u201cThe report highlights that, while need for food relief has become somewhat erratic and unpredictable, charities are reporting that overall demand is up by 47% and many of those now experiencing food insecurity (28%) have never before needed support,\u201d Casey explained.<\/p>\n

People seeking assistance at least once a week have more than doubled since last year (from 15% to 31%). \u201cThose who were already struggling before coronavirus hit have been impacted more quickly and seriously than others as they have lower resilience against life\u2019s turbulence,\u201d Casey commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, we are seeing new groups reach out for help, in particular casual workers and international students. These individuals tend to be younger, so it\u2019s not surprising that our report shows it\u2019s Australia\u2019s youth who are bearing the brunt of COVID-19. They are going without food more often than any other age group with 65% of food insecure Gen Z (aged 18-25) going hungry at least once a week compared to 25% of food insecure Baby Boomers (56-74) and 25% of Builders (75+).\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in its eighth year, the Foodbank Hunger Report <\/em>brings together research between April and August undertaken with both charities and individuals experiencing food insecurity.<\/p>\n

Key Statistics<\/h2>\n