General News
9 June, 2026
Food demand ‘skyrocketing’
WITH the cost of living biting into home budgets, Tablelands community services are struggling to keep up with the demand for food and care packages.
Like communities throughout Australia, Tablelands residents were feeling the escalating cost-of-living pressures, housing affordability and accessibility, rising fuel prices, interest rate rises, and now, a rising inflation rate, which reached 4.6% in April.
In Atherton, Better Together has experienced a jump in demand across the region and had introduced a roster system to manage food relief and emergency assistance services.
“Food insecurity continues to be a significant concern and central to our service delivery going forward,” Better Together Community Support chief executive officer Laree Verra said.
“We have implemented processes to ensure assistance remains fair, equitable and available for those who need it most.”
Its Community Pantry is now operated on an alternating-week model for those requiring food assistance; however, emergency relief is still available three days a week.
At the Mareeba Community Centre, the popular drop-in service, which provides food and dignity packages for those in need, had also had to resort to scheduling visits to ensure people “don’t miss out”, according to Chetty Boyer-Moore.
The regional demand matched recent national findings, which indicated people were being pushed to breaking point by cost-of-living pressures.
One Salvation Army report revealed that 1 in 5 (22%) parents said their children went without food for an entire day in the past 12 months.
Over 4 in 5 (86%) of parents said they went without food in the past 12 months so their kids could eat, and another one-third (33%) said they faced this daily.
A second Salvos report released last week, which focused on marginalised community members, found 91% were skipping meals (32% of whom did this daily), 60% were eating expired or spoiled food and 1 in 5 were eating from bins.
The 4,400 Australians surveyed who sought emergency relief support from the Salvos revealed widespread food insecurity and severe financial distress with 67% even saying they watered down food or drinks to make them last longer.
“We starve, it’s that simple. We drink water because it fills us up. We walk a bit to take our minds off this horrible life we are in, and we beg whoever we can for help,” a survey respondent said.
OZ Harvest, an organisation which rescues appropriate food from restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and public events that would otherwise be sent to landfill, has also reported that nationally, two-thirds of charities needed more food supplies to meet demand and 1 in 5 people seeking relief were being turned away.
Closer to home, frontline OZ Harvest data found a “critical food support crisis” across Queensland with 79% of local charities reporting increased demand, 72% of charities needing more food to meet that demand; and 36% of people seeking food relief for the first time, including mortgage holders and double-income households.
Oz Harvest state manager Michaela Windsor confirmed last week that the Far North region was struggling.
“Demand for food relief through the charities we service is absolutely skyrocketing,” she said.
“We know that households are really feeling the pinch. Things were tough before the fuel price surge, and it’s made things even more tricky.”
The Cairns-based operation services charities across the city, and as far as Port Douglas and Mossman. It also provided a pick-up service for volunteers coming in from Atherton agencies.
Ms Windsor said feedback over recent years had found the example of “who is going hungry and who is facing food insecurity” evolving quite rapidly.
“We’ve got folks that have people in paid employment in the household, and sometimes even double-income households need assistance,” she said.
“With the cost of everything going up from rent and mortgages to insurance and power bills, and the cost of food, it’s really tricky to keep making ends meet, particularly if you are on a fixed income.”
The organisation was currently “exploring all opportunities to increase supplies”.
“We deliver about 200,000 kilos of food each financial year, that’s about 400,000 meals, and we do have a little bit of capacity to increase that.
“We are actively seeking producers and growers and food businesses in the region who have that excess supply and who would like to see it go to people, rather than to landfill.”
Back in Atherton, Ms Verra said Better Together had not got to a stage of turning anyone away who was genuinely experiencing food insecurity or financial hardship.
“We encourage anyone who is struggling to come in and have a conversation with us about the supports available.”
She said the region’s reputation for generosity was vital in helping meet local needs.
Volunteers worked to collect and sort food donations from IGA, Woolworths, Oz Harvest and other local businesses, and help set up, support attendees, and pack down at the end of a Community Pantry Day.
Better Together also worked closely with many “local heroes” – gardeners, farmers and other local suppliers who preferred to remain anonymous, Ms Verra said.
To volunteer, donate excess fruit and vegetables or make financial contributions, contact Better Together Community Support on 07 4091 3850, or your local neighbourhood centre.
The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal is underway and aims to raise $41 million by 30 June.
