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Speaker 1: Now, the Food Bank Hunger Report for twenty twenty four

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Speaker 1: has found that three point four million households across Australia

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Speaker 1: were experiencing food insecurity and of those, two million households

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Speaker 1: were experiencing severe food insecurity.

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Speaker 2: So this means that.

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Speaker 1: They've skipped meals or ate less because they couldn't afford

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Speaker 1: to welp get enough food. The report found ninety seven

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Speaker 1: percent of households experiencing severe food insecurity worried that food

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Speaker 1: would run out before they had enough money.

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Speaker 2: To buy more.

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Speaker 1: It's a terrible situation and we know that it is

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Speaker 1: something that so many Australians and indeed Territorians are feeling

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Speaker 1: at this point.

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Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line is.

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Speaker 1: Food Bank South Australia and nt CEO Greg Pattinson. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Greg, Good morning Cody. Thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Greg. What's the situation in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think particularly in the in the more metropolitan areas,

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Speaker 3: it's pretty much the same as the rest of Australia,

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Speaker 3: where cost of living has become and to a lesser extent,

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Speaker 3: housing has become a significant issue in people in directing

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Speaker 3: people to need assistance of food. So we found the

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Speaker 3: Hunger Report that's just been launched found that thirty five

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Speaker 3: percent of all households across Australia and Essay and and

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Speaker 3: two were food insecure at some point in the last

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Speaker 3: twelve months, and for low income families it was just

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Speaker 3: about half were severely food insecure, in other words, went

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Speaker 3: a whole day without without a meal or was forced

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Speaker 3: to skid meals.

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Speaker 2: How terrible.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's absolutely terrible that people are in that situation.

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Speaker 1: And I mean, we know that the cost of food

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Speaker 1: is astronomical at this point in time, and it must

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Speaker 1: be such an incredibly helpless feeling, particularly if you've got

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Speaker 1: a family, feel like you're not able to feed your family.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think that's a key point the hip of

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Speaker 3: people's self esteem to suddenly find that they're in a

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Speaker 3: situation where they need food assystems. And I should point

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Speaker 3: out that for people coming to get food from food bank,

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Speaker 3: over sixty percent have jobs and thirty percent have mortgages.

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Speaker 3: So it's no longer the stereotype of unemployed or homeless people,

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Speaker 3: although those people are still within that within that mix,

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Speaker 3: it is very much now just normal working families who

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Speaker 3: may have just had an unexpected expense or one partners,

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Speaker 3: you know, lost some hours in their work or something

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Speaker 3: like that. So it's and it doesn't take much to

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Speaker 3: tip people out of the edge of the point where

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Speaker 3: food is becoming a third priority in their spending patterns.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, tell me what, like, what are people having to

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Speaker 1: go without? What's the report found in that sense? And

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Speaker 1: you know, like what type of things are they doing

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Speaker 1: to try to still ensure that their kids have food

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Speaker 1: or ensure that they're still able to eat.

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Speaker 2: At some point?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think what the report is showing is that

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Speaker 3: people are going for cheaper foods, you know that rather

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Speaker 3: than the healthier options. You know, so we'd go without

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Speaker 3: meat or high quality protein or fresh fruit and vegetables

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Speaker 3: and perhaps go for cheaper king alternatives or other alternatives

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Speaker 3: which may or may not be necessarily the healthier options.

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Speaker 3: So what it's longer, Tom means that. And the sad

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Speaker 3: thing is that while we have an issue with food

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Speaker 3: insecurity in some places, we've also got a problem with

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Speaker 3: obesity where where there are people having to buy those

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Speaker 3: high energy, cheaper alternatives rather than fresh fruit and vegetables.

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Speaker 3: Because and that's in the Northern Territory. That's actually that's

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Speaker 3: quite a unique issue because there's also been a report

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Speaker 3: that put put out by the Northern Territory Council of

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Speaker 3: Social Service this week which compared the cost of fresh,

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Speaker 3: healthy food baskets in remote communities versus in town and

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Speaker 3: it's it's like fifty percent more. You know, it's seriously scary,

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Speaker 3: scary reading. So I think the Northern Territory, while while

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Speaker 3: people in Darwin and our Springs and the regional areas

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Speaker 3: have got some are sharing those same issues, it gets

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Speaker 3: even worse once once we look at out of the

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Speaker 3: remote community.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not surprised by that.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we know that it's expensive as it is

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Speaker 1: in a lot of those remote communities.

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Speaker 2: My mum lives out in one. I know, it's like

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Speaker 2: it's tough for people to.

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Speaker 1: Be able to purchase fresh fruit, food and fruit and

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Speaker 1: that kind of thing out there, and then the cost

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Speaker 1: of that.

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Speaker 2: To have it transported out is added on to that.

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Speaker 1: You know, tell me, with what we are seeing in

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Speaker 1: terms of the struggles people are going through around food,

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Speaker 1: how high are the demands for food bank as this happens.

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Speaker 3: Yep, we're thirty five percent up on last year. If

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Speaker 3: that was you know, if we were a commercial business,

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Speaker 3: we'd be jumping for joy. And I tell people I've

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Speaker 3: got good news and bad news. And good news is

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Speaker 3: we're thirty five percent up. But the bad news is

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Speaker 3: we're thirty five percent up because there is that much demand.

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Speaker 3: I mean, we're really proud of the fact we've been

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Speaker 3: able to supply the food that's been required. The scary

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Speaker 3: thing is we probably could have done more. But the

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Speaker 3: concerning factor is that demand doesn't seem to be diminishing.

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Speaker 3: And we've while we're while we're understanding that the governments

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Speaker 3: of all persuasion, territory government, you know, the new territory

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Speaker 3: government and the federal government are all looking at things

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Speaker 3: like cost of living and housing affordability and welfare payments

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Speaker 3: and things like that. The reality is that's not going

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Speaker 3: to be quick and easy fixes. Those things have been

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Speaker 3: and those things, those issues have been many many years

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Speaker 3: in the making, and unfortunately it's all come to it's

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Speaker 3: all come in like a perfect storm right at this

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Speaker 3: moment where all of these things a bit at once.

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Speaker 3: So we believe that the demand for food Bank as

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Speaker 3: a safety act for the community is going to be

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Speaker 3: there for some years. Yet you know, we'd love to

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Speaker 3: be the see the day where we're not required anymore.

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Speaker 3: But until it happens, we were committed to trying to

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Speaker 3: find ways of getting the most food that the most

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Speaker 3: people in need in the most efficient way possible.

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Speaker 1: Well, and you guys do a phenomenal job, there is

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Speaker 1: no doubt about that.

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Speaker 2: Tell me.

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Speaker 1: I mean, are there any tips in terms or advice?

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Speaker 1: I guess for people who are doing it really tough.

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Speaker 3: I think one thing is you don't be afraid to

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Speaker 3: ask for help. There are whether it's food Bank or

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Speaker 3: or some of the other organizations in Darwin and around

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory who are there to help. I mean

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Speaker 3: the Saint John's Church. We see you now.

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Speaker 2: Sorry continue, well, we seem to have lost you for

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Speaker 2: a moment there.

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Speaker 3: Oh, sorry about that. Yeah. Our Food Bank out of Yarolonga,

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Speaker 3: out of Parmiston is actually our fourth busiest site now

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Speaker 3: that's quick there, and it's only we only opened it

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Speaker 3: in January and it's and it's gone from strength to

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Speaker 3: strength and we're going to open Catherine in the next

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Speaker 3: six months as well. But we're saying that people don't

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Speaker 3: be afraid to ask for help. There is you know,

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Speaker 3: we can direct people on our telephone line to to

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Speaker 3: organizations that can help. But also you know, the the

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Speaker 3: aim is to provide a very dignified way for people

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Speaker 3: to get food as systems without getting a hand out.

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Speaker 3: That's that's the whole point of it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you guys do a phenomenal job with that. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I'm assuming that it is still the situation. People can

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Speaker 1: come in, they can go through the shelves as well.

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Speaker 2: Can't they like their.

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Speaker 1: Theyre actually feel like they're at a at a supermarkesh.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it is by referral, though it is not open

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Speaker 3: to the general public much as much as we'd love to.

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Speaker 3: If we did that, we'd run out of food. But

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Speaker 3: now it's done done by referral, so that can be

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Speaker 3: done through any of any of the agencies like the

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Speaker 3: Salvos or Vinis or we also have. We're also doing

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Speaker 3: forty schools around the top End now at school breakfast

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Speaker 3: programs for free. Those schools can also refer their parents'

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Speaker 3: appearents through and we're doing thirteen schools around Alice Springs

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Speaker 3: as well.

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Speaker 1: Good to hear, Good to hear, Hey, Greg if there

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Speaker 1: is anybody out there listening this morning who maybe wants

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Speaker 1: to make a donation to Food Bank or wants to

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Speaker 1: help in some way, what's the best way for them

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Speaker 1: to do so?

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Speaker 3: If they hop onto our website, which is food Bank

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Speaker 3: dot org dot au, there'll be a link up the

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Speaker 3: top which will be show Essay n NC. So actually

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Speaker 3: you're on that, not Victoria or Queensland, because much as

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Speaker 3: we're per okay, we'd rather the money come to us absolutely,

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Speaker 3: and people can find out about volunteering. We'd love to

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Speaker 3: have volunteers out of both in Alice Springs and in Darwin.

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Speaker 3: We're looking for drivers or people who want to be

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Speaker 3: a checkout check or you know, someone packing shelves or

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Speaker 3: helping in the warehouse. They can donate money online as well,

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Speaker 3: which and all the money raised or goes to buying

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Speaker 3: the food we need. We don't take our administration or anything.

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Speaker 3: One hundred percent of the money that's raised and it

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Speaker 3: all stay in our well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that is good to hear well.

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Speaker 1: Greg Pattinson, the Food Bank, s A and nt CEO

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Speaker 1: always appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having a chat this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Cotie, Thank you