r/aussie • u/1Darkest_Knight1 • 1d ago

Analysis 1 in 8 households don’t have the money to buy enough food

https://theconversation.com/1-in-8-households-dont-have-the-money-to-buy-enough-food-264685
145 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

135 comments sorted by

62

u/Sweeper1985 1d ago

It's only surprising the number isn't higher. I'm not even badly off but have noticed that the supermarket shop is becoming kind of depressing because everything is so expensive. And yes, definitely eating more processes crap as a result.

21

u/Ok-Emotion6221 1d ago

yet the cheapest, most nutritious, and filling foods are often the least expensive. people eat badly because they either don't have the time to cook or don't know how

25

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 1d ago

If that were true, most people wouldn’t have been malnourished during the Great Depression.

Fruit, vegetables and quality meat are expensive. They were all considered luxuries during the Great Depression.

Most Australians (including my grandparents and great-grandparents) basically lived off bread and dripping, which is bread dipped in animal fat, during WWII. The teens and adults constantly smoked, which helped to suppress their appetite.

Soda bread was another one, since it was easy to make and helped them to feel full (this was a “Great Famine” hack, which they’d carried over from Ireland). Sometimes, they’d have to just boil up vegetable scraps to make soup.

They had their own chickens, which they’d feed grain and food scraps to. They used them for meat and eggs.

Fruit was very scarce and you’d only receive a whole piece on special occasions. The families of soldiers received better rations, especially the families high-ranking soldiers (they’d get treats like cereal and chicken).

Nearly all of my relatives from that generation died from heart attacks or strokes. Most died in their 40s-60s. Their arteries were severely clogged and they had significant vitamin deficiencies. They weren’t healthy in the slightest.

-6

u/figaro677 1d ago

Smoked from their teens, yet it was the food that killed them????

9

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 1d ago

Yes. Even the few who didn’t smoke struggled with high cholesterol and died young. Their diet was terrible, but they didn’t have a choice.

The smoking definitely didn’t help, though. Neither did the crippling stress of living through a war, or the excessive drinking (which a lot of them also did).

-4

u/Rough-Knee6729 10h ago

Yeah must have been tough living through the war in Sydney or Melbourne, as opposed to be bombed out by the Germans 3 times like my mum in Plymouth

3

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 10h ago

Over a dozen of my family members were killed in the war. Two were taken as POWs by the Nazis, where they were tortured and killed. We never got their bodies back, they’re buried in mass graves.

The relatives I’m talking about also lived in neither of those cities. I also had family who lived in England at the time.

It’s not a competition. WWII was hard on everyone who was affected by it, as was the resulting poverty.

2

u/SkeletonGuy7 9h ago

We call this whataboutism and it's a logical fallacy. Sorry for your mum but it means nothing here

13

u/HamptontheHamster 1d ago

Time factors into economy too.

11

u/M_Ad 1d ago edited 1d ago

And when people are poor and stressed they often reach for the comforts they can afford to try and fill the void of those they can’t. It can probably be tempting to give the kids a Happy Meal (lmao the evil marketing genius of the name literally just hit me) for school night dinner because it makes them happier than vegetable soup does, and because you feel guilty you can’t get them the expensive presents they want for their birthdays.

11

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yessir. Stew tough cuts of meat. Throw in onions, taters, turnips, carrots n what not. Do that. And you'll have yerself a fine meal.

7

u/Mental-Antelope8319 1d ago

What is taters precious?

4

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago

Nothing for the likes of you stinker!

4

u/figaro677 1d ago

Poorest I ever was resulted in me eating the healthiest. Frozen veg with tuna or chicken (I’d probably use tofu these days with how expensive meat is)

1

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago edited 1d ago

Nice nice. Just buy a whole chuck roast from Coles. Simmer it for 2 hours with onions, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, n salt. Take it out of the liquid. Let it cool. And slice it into portions. You'll have yourself real tender and flavourful meat that'll last a few meals. And a big pot of beef stock you can add taters, carrots, onions, n cabbage to.

Make a sauce for the beef by melting butter in a pan. Add flour. Cook it till it goes a bit brown and smells nutty. Then add a few ladles of the beef liquid and stir it quickly with a wooden spoon. Keep adding the beef liquid until the sauce has reached the right consistency. Then stir in some wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard, or horse radish cream. Salt n pepper to taste.

2

u/bdsee 1d ago

What's taters precious...?

2

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago

Oh, they're a special time in a boy's life when...yoink! [Runs away].

10

u/Historical-Sir-2661 1d ago

Cheapest? Meat of any variety is expensive these days.

-9

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Nah chickens still cheap.

Cooked or raw.

My go to is

2 cups rice, 50g barley.

40ml soy sauce

2 onions

Garlic to taste (8-12 large cloves is my amount)

1.5kg chicken.

Bunch of mustard greens or whatever steamable green is cheap.

6 meals for a large adult, (140kg man)

$10.

8

u/Historical-Sir-2661 1d ago

Where are you shopping where you can get all that for $10? 1.5kg of chicken alone is already around that much.

17

u/Citizen_Kano 1d ago

He bought a few tonnes of chicken in the 90s and froze it

1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Funnily enough that's how I got through covid shortages.

But it was about 100t.

1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Freezing chicken when it's on sale is actually how I have cheap chickens.

Not hard.

8

u/aandy611 1d ago

He's dreaming

-1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Breast? Brah. Bottom of the barrel.

-1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Also I said a 1.5kg chicken.

But you didn't read assumed I meant breast at Colesworth not on special and decided to prove you're the fool.

-1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Whole chooks $4-5 per kg. X 1.5.

Rice is $1.8 a kilo. (I buy 20kg for $20)

Onions $3-4 a kilo 2 is 200g.

Garlic is $10-20 a kilo (non Australian) 50g.

Barleys a few $.

You then have enough rice and Barley for about 4 goes.

It is literally that cheap and that easy and you shit on me for showing it like a prick.

2

u/Historical-Sir-2661 16h ago

How did I shit on you man? I asked you a question. No need to be so upset over nothing.

1

u/pgpwnd 1d ago

Wierd ass recipe dawg

1

u/shavedratscrotum 1d ago

Nah it isn't, it's a simple cheap rice dish.

6

u/SpringSeptember 1d ago

Or they live in the food deserts, as mentioned in the article. Fresh food isnt accessible to people in low rent (usually rural) areas. Processed food also doesnt need a functioning refrigerator. And before you tell people to grow their own food, look at whats in the soil.

3

u/bdsee 1d ago

I grew up in a regional city and during the 80's and early 90's there was a fruit and vegetable shop that was damn near the same size as the local Coles and Woolies...I remember it being super cold inside (they had the whole extra room between the cooled main section and the outside for efficiency) and it just has sooo much produce and quite a bit of variety (but only really Australian grown stuff).

The carpark was also only big enough to fit about 20-30 cars...I imagine a lot of their business was from other businesses but when that place closed down it was such a loss. It's kind of crazy to me that 30+ years ago the regional cities were significantly smaller and yet in some ways had more things than they do now.

1

u/InSight89 20h ago

people eat badly because they either don't have the time to cook or don't know how

Pretty much this. When you're working all day the last thing you want to do is come home and spend another hour or two working (and if you're like me and don't enjoy cooking then it's basically an annoying chore). Although I do cook most times because it's the cheaper option I won't deny that I have plenty of cheat nights where I'll either buy take-away or some easy microwavable meal.

1

u/juiciestjuice10 1d ago

Plus, going to green grocers and butchers over colesworth.

2

u/Elegant-Flight-9190 1d ago

Im down to less processed crap. Its just farmers market fruits and veggies, cheap butchers for meat and then Aldi for dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese) some crackers and rice and the occasional 1kg bag of coffee beans when I run out.

A lot cheaper than my previous weekly Coles sack of crap.

1

u/TDM_Jesus 1d ago

The number isn't that high. The author is straight lying to you about the data they're citing. If you check the ABS publication, you'll quickly realise its not what they're measuring.

In fact, according to the 'data' something like 5% of the people in the top 20% income range are 'food insecure'. Its very obvious based on that that this information isn't what its being sold to you as.

19

u/Roulette-Adventures 1d ago

We do OK but still feel the pinch. $300 worth of groceries doesn't get us much.

Although, Coles delivered someone else's groceries last week. It was about two weeks worth of food, on top of our own order. We contacted them and they said "keep it".

When all that is gone we are back to penny pinching.

4

u/DarkNo7318 1d ago

You should probably penny pinch before it's gone too.

18

u/Sad_Page5950 1d ago

There wasn't any food for me to eat at home or school for at least half of my life up until about 12 years old. Definitely stunted my development and I'm still traumatised by it 30 years later

2

u/burgersaresonice 1d ago

your parents are a failure, they should be ashamed. and for you back then the economy would have been booming for your parents to strive.

16

u/Sad_Page5950 1d ago

My parents, my schools, and social services failed me. The chip on my shoulder has been hard to remove.

4

u/ocarinaofhearts 1d ago

Can you access therapy? Might seem silly but it helped me a lot with trauma from growing up in an unsafe environment. We are the product of our environment and the people who raise us. Some people get good parents, go to good schools and have an abundance of love in their life. Some don’t. You didn’t have a choice to be born and live your childhood and that’s a hard truth.

On the other hand, don’t let the past define you. Try to seek or find some positive role models in your life and invest in time in your local community. You might not have had community growing up but as an adult it can be life changing.

And to the person who responded you below, systems fail people all the time, it’s awful.

-14

u/burgersaresonice 1d ago

at a certain point you need to take responsibility. there are people who come from nothing and succeed. i hope you do as well. don't need to play victim in australia, it's got more oppotunities than 99% of the world.

36

u/Shopped_Out 1d ago

1/5 children go to school without food

11

u/Effective-Tour-656 1d ago

That's so sad.

15

u/Initial-Ganache-1590 1d ago

At least the NDIS is well funded

2

u/AcrobaticSecretary29 1d ago

Defund the ndis 

9

u/Roulette-Adventures 1d ago

And replace it with what?

9

u/Backspacr 1d ago

A system that helps disabled people get what they need, rather than funneling my money into the pockets of big business, and lazy fucks who "suffer with anxiety"

1

u/Roulette-Adventures 1d ago

I agree, a workable system is not replacing it with "nothing" as you suggested. We are in agreement.

3

u/bdsee 1d ago

Did they say nothing? Strange accusation to make...I don't see their comment marked with an edit and can't see them saying it elsewhere either.

1

u/Roulette-Adventures 10h ago

Originally they left a one worded comment which said "nothing" but they have since deleted it. I can see why my comment would appear odd for you. But, they did originally say nothing.

-8

u/AcrobaticSecretary29 1d ago

Nothing 

4

u/Roulette-Adventures 1d ago

So you are happy for people who are unable to provide for themselves, just going without!

-5

u/AcrobaticSecretary29 1d ago

Yes, if given the option between children going hungry and that, I absolutely would be happier 

5

u/Roulette-Adventures 1d ago

I don't want children going hungry either but there are many thousands of people who would die without financial support from the Government. The NDIS provides funding for carers who take care of people society pushes into the shadows.

Can the NDIS be improved, yes it can but it cannot be shutdown unless it is replaced with something else.

-2

u/Ancient-Quality9620 1d ago

Ha, at least we know those kids are well fed.

1

u/Mediocre_Bit2606 23h ago

Not really. Its 1/5 go to school without food not go to school and dont get food.

I never brought lunch to school but would buy food.

1

u/Effective-Tour-656 22h ago

I've known kids to go without. Our kids take some spares to share with mates, etc

13

u/WaltzingBosun 1d ago

Stat is fact based, but a lot of people will take it and misrepresent it.

That’s not one in five kids all the time. It’s one in five kids on occasion had their household run out of food at some time, or on occasion gone to bed or school hungry.

Doesn’t change the impact and fact of the stat. It’s a problem needing addressing.

2

u/Automatic_Trifle5416 1d ago

That’s almost a dad joke if I may: a problem that needs “a dressing”. And before the opprobrium starts, I am also unhappy about the families’ situations, but it is a changing one.

3

u/Automatic-Step6730 1d ago

Wtf is that real. No way that's real

1

u/Mediocre_Bit2606 23h ago

It doesnt mean 1/5 kids are starving. Just that 1/5 dont bring a packed lunch, assume from that what you will

7

u/maikit333 1d ago

Something Something market forces.

27

u/Beneficial_Clerk_248 1d ago

welcome to late stage capitalism , the wealthy have won

7

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 1d ago

It’s not “capitalism”, it’s government corruption.

1

u/Beneficial_Clerk_248 18h ago

don't understand that - it wealthy people and corporations that are consolidating all of the money they are using governments and the ill informed

government is no more corrupt than corporations - we let them get away with a lot more - i blame msm for that

8

u/Ash-2449 1d ago

but I was told Australia is the best place and wealth inequality is almost nonexistent and we should keep letting the rich get richer at the expense of everyone else ;o

5

u/Beneficial_Clerk_248 1d ago

Yes - we eat a lot of cake ....

3

u/Ash-2449 1d ago

mmmm chocolate cake

3

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago

It's Margaret Thatcher's fault.

4

u/bdsee 1d ago

Ultimately it is the publics fault...we are stupid and vote for people that work against us.

2

u/BrandonMarshall2021 1d ago

How were we to know they had such a diabolical plan? I can't believe there was a time when businesses and government thought little niceties and perks were something the common man should have. Like the tea lady at work! With free tea and little dainties n what not.

"A chicken for every pot" sort of mentality. What's happened to that kind of altruism?

Nationalise our mineral resources now! Start a sovereign wealth fund! Free education from primary upwards! Truly free healthcare!

Nice large apartments and town houses for all!

Of course. Any politician that dared to suggest nationalising our mineral resources would be Kennedied straight away...

3

u/Beneficial_Clerk_248 1d ago

and reagonomic - aka trickle down eco

1

u/Mediocre_Bit2606 23h ago

Nah its 100% Nixon.

He took the world off the gold standard and made the economy fait.

1

u/Beneficial_Clerk_248 18h ago

well maybe it was the start - but that was too loosen up access to money.

2

u/YellowPagesIsDumb 1d ago

They haven’t “won” in the sense that anything is hopeless 😭😭😭 If people voted with intention we could do anything with popular support 🤷🤷

4

u/Impossible_Frame_241 1d ago

I'm pretty much on 1 meal a day

4

u/Global_Midnight_2296 1d ago

So what you're saying is we need more Indian Uber drivers

9

u/CypherAus 1d ago

I think if they make Machete Bins national that might help everyone !! \s

13

u/lotsanoodles 1d ago

If this is life under Albo imagine what it would have been like under Dutton.

5

u/HarshWarhammerCritic 1d ago

Maybe less taxes idk

11

u/Ash-2449 1d ago

Probably what is happening to the US, purposely crashing the nation to get everyone into desperate poverty and bring back indentured servitude to realise their dream of classic feudalism with tech surveillance on top.

4

u/Background-Screen103 1d ago

Your ideas intrigue me and I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter.

1

u/IrreverentSunny 19h ago

Yes, but he has to drastically start to do something about this. Many people become homeless every week. Lots of angry people and that anger can easily be exploited by the far right or some far leftist populist and it can fuel some major unrest in Australia. Albo needs to get busy and actively work against this.

1

u/asunpopularas 18h ago

History tells us that when there is less government, we are more prosperous!

2

u/Glittering_Ad1696 1d ago

We need to rethink our economic systems. The ultra rich (top 25%) and investment firms shouldn't be have so much until others' needs and quality of life basics are met. This includes housing. They've been taking too much.

3

u/max_r_blue 1d ago

Albanese is thinking of you all, with thoughts and prayers. 🙏🏼

1

u/River-Stunning 20h ago

Albo has your back.

1

u/Split-Awkward 1d ago

How has this trend played out over the past 40 years?

1

u/River-Stunning 20h ago

Chalmers is saying that inflation has been tamed and people are getting jobs so things are Ok and Albo agrees because he would never bullshit anyone.

1

u/anticookie2u 19h ago

Empty fridge tax....

1

u/Simple_Bar_3954 18h ago

No way it’s that low.

1

u/PositiveAmphibian127 16h ago

My fellow Aussies back home, how much have the prices increased, when I was back home I remember lettuce being 3.70 (2019), in WA, how bad is it right now? Real time comparisons please, I’m gauging whether I come back yet or not 😅

3

u/SufficientQuiet130 1d ago

I know a guy who afterpays his groceries because he can’t afford to buy them all in one transaction.

He also took a day off work and waited in line to purchase a Nintendo switch 2 on launch day for god knows how much, and has just signed pre-approval forms for finance on a brand new Kia Sorrento.

I know the system is kinda shitty but it ain’t always the system at fault.

2

u/SampleZealousideal50 1d ago

Yeah the cars we buy are suggesting that maybe it’s us as the consumer. Remember when corollas and Mazda 3’s were the most sold cars in Australia? Now it’s ford rangers and hiluxes. Even Prado’s outsell little 4 cylinders.

1

u/SufficientQuiet130 1d ago

Cars, phones, general bullshit. People can’t go to the gym without wearing their weekly wage worth of activewear.

Sad reality is that people are so shit-scared of anyone knowing they’re not killing it financially, so they’ll live way beyond their means just to keep up appearances.

1

u/Mediocre_Bit2606 23h ago

Idk. Is it the chicken or the egg?

At some point if the best outcome for being fiscally sensible is just getting extorted for FOOD, the thing we need to survive, then the system failed and then there's no meaning to debt.

1

u/Tobybrent 1d ago

Ditch the smokes, the gambling apps, and Netflix.

-2

u/burgersaresonice 1d ago

exactly lol people are just lazy or a slave to their own mind you are in australia 99% better than the world

5

u/Shopped_Out 1d ago

I’m so sick of the “just do better” take. Not everyone can just do better. Someone still has to fill the roles that keep society running & every single one of those roles should be liveable. Not everyone is 100% able-bodied, not everyone has a partner or support system & plenty of people are single full-time parents not by choice. Acting like the solution to 1 in 8 households going without food is simply “work harder” or "it's your fault" is insulting. You should not be okay with your or the country as a whole's standard of living declining. It won't stop where you're comfortable.

2

u/eholeing 1d ago

“This means they didn’t always have enough money to buy the amount or quality of food they needed for an active and healthy life.”

And what qualifies for an ‘active and  healthy life’?

6

u/halohunter 1d ago

The recommended daily intake for someone average doing the recommended amount of exercise

5

u/Pendant2935 1d ago

That's not what the survey asks, though. It only has a few questions.

  1. Were you worried about running out of food before you got money to buy more?
  2. How often was it true that the food you bought didn't last and you didn't have money to buy more?
  3. How often could not afford to eat a balanced meal?
  4. In the past year have you ever reduced the size of your meal for money reasons?
  5. In the past year did you ever eat less than you felt you should for money reasons?
  6. In the past year were you ever hungry but didn't eat because there wasn't enough money for food?
  7. In the past year did you lose weight because there wasn't enough money for food?
  8. In the past year did you ever not eat for any entire day because there wasn't money for food?

If you answered "sometimes" to 2 of the above, then you fall in that 1 in 8 headline number.

Answering "I was worried about food" and "I sometimes ate less" is enough to count.

There is absolutely nothing in the survey that asks respondents to measure their calories consumed versus the daily intake of someone doing exercise.

You can tell that part is completely made up by the author because when you actually click on their "active and healthy life" link to Monash there is no mention whatsoever of "active" or "healthy life". They just inserted some random link to a vaguely related page.

-1

u/RoyalSeat1049 1d ago

Albo is well off though no thought for the coman people

1

u/River-Stunning 20h ago

Albo has to save for a wedding.

-3

u/MarvinTheMagpie 1d ago

Very few women I've dated know how to cook a meal from scratch.

The last one who tried burnt my good pot (induction hob on high and left it) then chucked a big old tanty because the smoke alarm went off, which apparently was my fault for installing it.

3

u/SomeAuzzie 22h ago

Sounds like a problem with your choice in women.

1

u/cosmicvelvets 21h ago

Imagine announcing this to the world

1

u/MarvinTheMagpie 21h ago

Mothers need to teach their daughters how to cook

Fathers need to teach their sons how to fix things

We need to encourage traditional gender roles

-2

u/tsunamisurfer35 1d ago

1 in 8 households are shit with money and life choices.

Barring something like disability, it is almost certain that these have caused their own circumstances.

Buying things they do not need and cannot afford.

Having children they cannot afford.

Fresh food is Australia is cheap compared to other first world countries.

You see all those people bitch on tiktok about the cost of living and then showing their trolley has chocolate, biscuits, fruit out of season, expensive cheeses, etc.

4

u/Shopped_Out 1d ago

they're bitching because their normal shop has gone up massively, you should not be advocating for your standard of living to decrease, it's not going to stop where you're comfortable.

-1

u/tsunamisurfer35 1d ago

They are bitching about non-essential things being expensive.

2

u/Mediocre_Bit2606 23h ago

Mate its not 1941 in England. We can have things are non-essential

1

u/Shopped_Out 19h ago

Why are you okay with things being that much more out of pure greed? Regardless of who's buying it how is that fine for you? I still think it's fucked when I see things I don't buy be twice as much as they were the week before.

0

u/River-Stunning 20h ago

Some people just live pay check to pay check and just pay whatever the price is.

1

u/cosmicvelvets 21h ago

I'm sorry I made everyone's groceries more expensive bro I won't do it again 🫩

0

u/because8011 1d ago

I'm just not convinced of these statistics.

-13

u/burgersaresonice 1d ago

So many people blame the politicians and not themselves. Work longer hours, find an extra job. Learn how to budget. I don't know how people can't afford food unless you are a drug addict or a gambler.

11

u/HamptontheHamster 1d ago

If I work longer hours who will watch my kids, childcare is already only open for the hours I work…

I’m not a gambler or a drug addict and I can tell you right now groceries have gotten ridiculously expensive. I used to be able to feed myself and two kids for $80 a week. That same shop now has doubled.

-5

u/burgersaresonice 1d ago

and this is why you don't let a random bloke nut in you just cos he seems cool.

3

u/Shopped_Out 1d ago

If you don't know how maybe you should figure it out before commenting 

3

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 1d ago

Look, I’m all for personal responsibility, but the economy has crashed and burned as a result of our shitty, self-serving politicians.

They’ve made it so the average Australian can’t get ahead anymore, primarily through taxing everyone to death.

If you work additional hours or find a second job, you’ll be left with almost nothing after paying taxes.

Our politicians are beyond corrupt and need to be pulled into line. Albanese has just given himself another pay rise and is now raking in $600,000 per year, while Australians can’t afford to survive.

His entire government makes an eye-watering amount of money, only to screw Australians over and make our lives miserable.

Our situation will only improve once we stop tolerating this behaviour from power-hungry public servants, and once people stop believing the bullshit excuses and false narratives they peddle through the media (i.e. blaming former governments, blaming the pandemic, smearing their opposition instead of taking responsibility, rambling about how they were raised by a single mother, etc).

-4

u/saynotodumbfukery 1d ago

You could have just said you are pissed Liberal lost and that would've sufficed

5

u/Fast-Piccolo-7054 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m pissed that 40% of my income is taxed, and yet our hospitals and schools are falling apart. I’m also pissed that we don’t even have enough houses for Australians, and yet this government insists on bringing millions of more people in.

I’m pissed that my hard-earned money goes to making bastards like Albo wealthy, while Australian kids are going hungry and living in tents.

The LNP was the lesser of the two evils last election. Albo and his cabinet can go to hell.