Just as more Queenslanders than ever are turning to charities for food essentials, the state’s largest hunger relief body is itself facing the impact of mounting costs.
Key points:
- Fresh produce is less available due to heavy rain and labour force issues
- Foodbank Queensland is grappling with increased fuel and freight costs along with difficulty finding staff
- Queensland has seen the strongest increase in household spending in the country, ABS data shows
Foodbank Queensland sources about 14 million kilograms of food each year, about half of which is fresh fruit and vegetables.
Chief executive Sara Harrup said the charities, neighbourhood pantries and local food banks her organisation supplies had been reporting increased demand.
“In some cases, the stories they talk about are people lining up down the road and around the corner to try and get food from them,” she said.
“The demand for food is going up, so the speed with which food is exiting this warehouse is picking up.”
Food that’s been donated or purchased by Foodbank is sorted by volunteers and staff at a distribution centre on Brisbane’s south side.
“Key staples that we purchase, we’re seeing increases of 20 per cent and more. Particularly with things like rice and UHT [long-life] milk,” Ms Harrup said.
She said some supermarkets had also relaxed their specifications on fruit and vegetables, particularly for growers.
“That also then means what people are able to donate to us is reduced,” she said.
Produce donations come straight from growers, with Foodbank providing bins for packing and sorting sheds — anything that wouldn’t earn a decent price can be donated.
Foodbank organises for the bins to be picked up, utilising both its own truck fleet as well as freight providers.
It has suffered a double-whammy of rising fuel and labour costs, making freight more expensive
Queensland sees the highest rise in household spending
Earlier this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) began a monthly measure of what households are spending on goods and services, using transaction data supplied by banks.
Results from June just released show household spending is up across the country, with Queensland experiencing the strongest annual increase – 12.4 per cent higher than June 2021 (compared to a national rise of 10.2 per cent).
The strongest increases were in typically “discretionary” categories – hotels, cafes and restaurants (25.6 per cent), clothing and footwear (24 per cent), and miscellaneous goods and services (25.5 per cent) such as childcare and hairdressers.
ABS head of macroeconomic statistics Jacqui Vitas said non-discretionary spending – what people would call essentials – rose by 10.6 per cent in Queensland.
Spending on food grew by 2.7 per cent — more than in NSW and Victoria but less than South Australia and Tasmania.
Spending on transport increased by 23.2 per cent.
“Queensland had stronger increases in spending, compared to the national rise, for food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and it was slightly higher for transport as well,” Ms Vitas said.
“The transport, there were two drivers – obviously increased fuel prices, but we’re also seeing increased demand for airfares.”
Essentials cost more
Few people will have failed to notice the rising cost of staples like milk and vegetables.
Eggs are also in short supply in some parts of the country.
Coles has placed temporary purchase limits on eggs for several weeks, and a spokeswoman said it was monitoring supply and working with suppliers to improve availability.
A spokesperson for Woolworths said the market-wide supply of locally produced eggs in some regions had been impacted by reduced production on a number of farms.
Volunteers urgently needed
Ms Harrup said Foodbank Queensland was always on the lookout for new food donors and trying to capitalise on produce gluts where possible.
“Avocados have been very plentiful recently,” she said.
The organisation is also embarking on a recruitment drive, seeking up to 100 more volunteers.
She also encouraged people to keep their eyes and ears open and offer help to people in their local communities who are having a hard time.
“If you’ve got a neighbour doing it tough or a family member, wherever you can help — cook a meal, provide a care package,” she said.
“There’s often a lot of shame that people experience when they’re hungry. So just trying to have an awareness and knowing that people might not tell you if they’re experiencing that and being a good neighbour.”
