Last year, I tabled an urgency motion about food insecurity in the Inner West. Since then, the issue has grown steadily worse as the cost of living crisis has intensified. So I've teamed up with Councillor Dylan Griffiths to draft the following motion, which we'll table at our next Council meeting on Tuesday 20 June.

That Council:

1. Notes the recent media reports about the increasing demand on anti-poverty and food relief programs run by Addison Road Community Organisation and the Rev. Bill Crews Foundation;

2. Notes data from Addison Road Community Organisation showing that 76% of people who could not afford to pay for low-cost groceries at Marrickville food pantry are in the Inner West local government area;

3. Notes the data provided by the Rev. Bill Crews Foundation outlining the dramatic surge in demand for its food relief and anti-poverty support services;

4. Notes the recent survey of 1,900 OzHarvest supported charities which found that 73% have reported an increase in demand in the past six months, and more than a third of their clients were seeking food relief for the first time;

5. Organises monthly meetings between Council officers and local anti-poverty organisations throughout FY23/24 to track community use of these services, and identify ways Council can assist with anti-poverty and food relief programs. These meetings will be reported back to Councillors via briefing notes or reports to Council;

6. Establishes $50,000 of grant funding, in the 23/24 FY budget, for local anti-poverty and food relief programs, such as those run by Addison Road Community Organisation and Bill Crews Exodus Foundation;

7. Writes to Premier Chris Minns and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey to advocate for urgent and ongoing funding for local anti-poverty and food relief programs in the NSW Budget that will be handed down on Tuesday 19 September;

8. Writes to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers to:

a. Advocate for urgent and ongoing Federal funding for local anti-poverty and food relief programs;

b. Reiterate Council’s support for the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) Raise the Rate campaign, and its call to permanently and adequately increase income support payments.

Background

At its Ordinary Council meeting on 9 August 2022, Council unanimously supported an urgency motion on food security following a sharp rise in food theft and people seeking food relief in the Inner West. Since then, the cost of living crisis has worsened, and pressure on our local anti-poverty and food relief services continues to grow, with providers of these services reporting dramatic increases in demand.

Addison Road Community Organisation (Addi Road)

Addi Road is one of the main suppliers of food relief in the Inner West. It distributes free emergency food hampers to people in need and other not-for-profit organisations; sells low-cost groceries at its food pantries; and provides emergency food vouchers to provide free groceries to those who cannot afford to pay for food at its food pantries.

Demand for Addi Road’s food relief services has grown by more than 60% in less than a year, yet the organisation receives no government funding for these services. CEO Rosanna Barbero told ABC News in May that she “has never seen it this bad”, and noted that the cost of living crisis was seeing a new cohort of people turning to them for food relief: “We’re really entering into a crisis in the lower middle class and the middle class…that is frightening.”

Many of the people who are increasingly reliant on Addi Road for food live in the Inner West. 76% of people who needed emergency food vouchers to pay for groceries at the Marrickville food pantry between January and March this year were from the Inner West Council local government area. 80% received income support payments, highlighting yet again the urgent need to lift these payments to ensure everyone has enough to cover the basic necessities.

Rev. Bill Crews Foundation

The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation also provides direct food relief to people across the Inner West through the free meals provided at its Loaves & Fishes Free Restaurant in Ashfield and its food vans.

In the month of May, the Foundation supplied a total of 38,311 meals compared to 29,387 meals in April, an increase of 8,924 meals. This surge represents a 30% rise in demand, with an additional 288 meals being distributed each day when compared to the previous month. Their daily volume is now 1,240 meals per day.

The number of people seeking assistance has also witnessed a dramatic surge. In May alone, the Foundation assisted 20,116 people, compared to 18,111 in April and 14,128 in March. This amounts to an additional 2,000 individuals seeking support in just one month, equating to an average of 64 more people requiring assistance every day. Since March, they have seen an alarming increase of nearly 6,000 guests within a span of only two months.

Additionally, the number of hampers donated in May rose to 1,879, a significant increase from 1,556 in April and 1,548 in March. These numbers further highlight the escalating need for necessities within our community.

The Foundation has advised that its Social Health and Wellbeing team are unable to meet the increased need for services. They have provided over $12,000 to individuals for utility support since January 2023, and over $283,480 has been issued to support vulnerable individuals and families to sustain tenancies and for food security through vouchers. Its intake team, who respond to one of crisis appointments, currently have a 5 week waitlist.

Ahead of this year’s federal Budget, Rev Crews spoke about the rise in demand for the Foundation’s services: “It’s all day from breakfast to night. There are so many people struggling. Even people who have got jobs can’t earn enough to pay rent and all the other medical bills…we’ve morphed from feeding the homeless to feeding the hungry.”