Fears of a food shortage for hardest-hit Australians
Foodbank has experienced a 78 per cent jump in demand since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and has struggled to keep up.
The food relief charity is now feeding 1.4 million people, and is warning the government the situation will only worsen when JobKeeper payments end.
Foodbank NSW Chief Operating Officer John Robertson told Mark Levy in addition to the increased demand, financial hardship has led to less donations from otherwise generous Aussies.
Sports journalists and flight attendants are among those who found themselves out of work and now volunteer for Foodbank, he said.
“We’ve seen families who describe themselves as middle-class working families suddenly in a situation where they’re looking for support when it comes to food.
“JobKeeper and JobSeeker alleviated a bit of that pressure, but come late September/early October if we see that rate significantly reduced or stopped altogether, we’re anticipating that our demand will go through the roof.”
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Image: Facebook/Foodbank NSW & ACT