Australian food insecurity affected 3.6 million households in the 12 months to Foodbank’s 2026 hunger report, up from 3.5 million in the preceding year. The report, published on October 26, found that one in three households experienced food insecurity.

Key Takeaways

  • Among food-insecure households, 69% experienced food insecurity for the first time in the past year.
  • Foodbank has called for a national school breakfast program that would reach every child by 2030.

Australian food insecurity reaches more households

The number of households experiencing food insecurity rose by 100,000 from the previous year, although the share of households affected remained at one in three.

Foodbank Australia chief executive Kylea Tink attributed the pressure to the cost of living and rising interest rates. She said households often cut food spending while prioritising housing, utilities and transport.

Regional and First Nations households face severe pressure

Almost one in four regional households experienced severe food insecurity, compared with 18% of urban households. The report also found that more than half of First Nations households experienced food insecurity, including 40% in the severe category.

Tink said people aged 18 to 34 were the age group most likely to have experienced food insecurity in the past year.

Foodbank seeks national breakfast program

Foodbank welcomed A$700,000 in federal government surge funding announced in October, but Tink said the money would not solve the problem overnight. She called for an approach involving agriculture, health and education, as well as political and social will.

The organisation has asked the federal government to establish a national school breakfast program with the aim of reaching every child by 2030. Foodbank said it had delivered 3,649 school breakfast programs across Australia.

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