The hunger crisis hidden from view

14 November 2024

Making a Meal of Social Support

Hunger, for most, is a fleeting sensation, a temporary discomfort easily quelled. It might visit between meals or as we try to drop a few kilos. But for millions of Australians, persistent hunger is a constant pall hanging over one’s every move, moment and emotion.

The latest Foodbank Hunger Report released this month shows that this is the reality for too many Australians, with one in three households across the nation struggling to put food on the table. It is a crisis that is often hidden from view.

The definition of food insecurity covers three cohorts — people who worry about having enough (11 per cent) people who compromise meal choices (13 per cent); and people who are actively skipping meals (19 per cent).

These pressures are changing the way people live. They are buying less dairy, meat and fresh produce; cutting back on cleaning products and relying more on credit cards or buy now, pay later.

A few things stand out about the groups of people who are experiencing food insecurity. They are:

20 per cent of people on the minimum wage,
69 per cent of single parent households,
29 per cent of people with mortgages,
45 per cent of people renting.

For me, the most striking statistic was that 79 per cent said they were experiencing food insecurity for the first time.

It goes without saying that this is placing huge pressure on NCOSS members like FoodBank, which is reporting huge demand for its Schools Breakfast Program.

Foodbank is working at Ashcroft Public School in Southwest Sydney as part of the philanthropically funded ‘Mirrung’ program, which is changing the trajectory of the community around Ashcroft Public School.

They provide breakfast for up to 60 kids every day, which is almost a third of the school enrolments. They have food available for students throughout the day and extend that support to their families with frozen meals, food hampers and other food donations that families can take home if there won’t be enough food.

Teachers are noticing the difference: “Kids are accessing the breakfast club regularly… They're coming to class with a belly full, so they already have a higher chance of accessing the learning of being engaged or being in a good mood because they're not hungry.”

This has been a foundational part of the program that has seen a remarkable shift in attendance from below the state average to above the state average. The food program has been a way to build trust with parents and families and the school kitchen has become a place where families can come to discuss their challenges with a trusted face and connect with health, legal and social services.

This is a story we should be aiming to replicate across our state, where a simple meal can have the cascading effect on families doing it the toughest. Because we all know on a full stomach, it’s easier to confront the other big problems that life will serve us.

NCOSS spoke to Foodbank NSW-ACT CEO John Robertson about the challenge of keeping up with the demand for food support.

What’s happening at Foodbank right now?

We are building 40,000 Christmas hampers that will be distributed up until Christmas Eve. We are seeing less and less food donated which is creating challenges for us keeping up with the increasing demand for food. Of particular concern is the huge increase in the number or people reaching out for support and the diversity of those looking for support is changing.

How is the cost-of-living crisis impacting on you work?

It’s increasing the demand for food and challenging our ability to keep up with that demand. The increase has been most noticeable in rural and remote NSW. Despite 34% of the state’s populations living in rural and remote NSW, 50% of the food we distribute is now going to the regions.

Share a good news story about Foodbank’s work

The great news is our volunteers and the support they give to us, week in and week out. Our individual volunteers play a crucial role in helping us ensure the food that is needed, is picked, packed and delivered on time. This allows us to keep overheads down and do more with the money we receive from our generous donors.

What’s the one thing you would change if you were sitting in the Premier’s seat?

It’s a question I am often asked and mostly avoid because it’s easy in the cheap seats to say what you would do and slightly more difficult when you are in the hot seat. That said, something that has no cost to Government but would have real impact is to have all members of the Parliament spend quality time with the social service sector, and spend at least one full day twice a year, as a minimum with organisations in their electorates, to see firsthand the great work that is being done in this sector.

What’s the difference between working in politics and the community services sector?

The community services sector is on the front line every day helping people with needs, sometimes complex and at others not so complex. Politics is generally about ideas, some that are slowly implemented. The sector is about action and innovation, sadly in recent years, forced to do more with less. The two should be working hand in glove because over the last few decades, government has outsourced more of the services they once provided and generally not provided sufficient funding to reflect the work the sector is doing.

NCOSS is currently preparing our Pre-Budget Submission for the 2025-26 Budget.

We plan to submit two separate documents in early December. The first focuses on the needs of people living in poverty and experiencing inequality, covering issues such as housing, food insecurity, oral health, and early intervention for children and families.

The second focuses on the immense challenges facing the sector, particularly in terms of inadequate funding in the face of overwhelming demand and increased costs. Following the submission, NCOSS will meet with key Ministers and their offices early in 2025.

We will keep you updated over the next few weeks. Should organisations wish to submit their own PBS, they are due on 17 December 2024 via https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/2025-26-pre-budget-submission.

The NSW Government recently introduced a Portable Long Service Leave scheme for community service workers.

The scheme has been legislated by parliament and will come into effect by mid-2025.

The Department of Customer Service has launched a consultation process on the regulations for the Community Services Portable Long Service Leave Scheme.

The regulations cover the following issues:

Employer returns
Interest rates for overdue levies
Holding period for payments
Non-service days
Breaks in service
Community services sector long service leave committee

NCOSS will submit a response to this consultation on behalf of the sector. Organisations are encouraged to submit their own perspectives at the Have Your Say website at www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say or by emailing portablelsl@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.

Yesterday, the Department of Communities and Justice announced a 6-month extension to all existing Targeted Early Intervention and Family Connect and Support contracts, until 31 December 2025. The update from DCJ is replicated below.

NCOSS will continue to work closely with our fellow peaks and members to ensure that outcomes are maximised for children, their families, and the sector. Our immediate priority is to ensure that the sector has greater clarity on the details of this decision and its implications.

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The Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) recommissioning and sector consultation process has been underway since April 2024. Your engagement and contribution to this part of the recommissioning process has been vitally important in improving the program and the wider early intervention service system.
The Minister has this week agreed to extend existing contracts and consultation by six months. This will allow alignment with Foundational Supports that are currently being designed with the Commonwealth Government to provide people with disability necessary supports outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
All TEI and Family Connect and Support (FCS) service providers with existing contracts will be extended (under current Program Specifications), for six months until 31 December 2025.
With the contract extension, new contracts under the TEI program are intended to be for 4.5-years, with the expectation that providers will improve job security outcomes, in line with the Government’s Secure Jobs and Funding Certainty election commitment.
Through the recommissioning process, the Minister intends to at least double ACCO investment from the 7.2% as at August 2023. Increased ACCO funding from within the existing TEI program budget is intended to be achieved with minimal disruption to frontline services.
The Final TEI Evaluation Report is undergoing approval and is on track for publishing before the end of December.
The draft TEI Program Specifications are being updated, following initial consultation with the sector. The next draft version is expected to be available on the DCJ website by the end of November, for further consultation. There will also be further sector and Peak engagement on the next version of the Program Specifications.

The NSW Ombudsman is offering a 15% discount on all in-house training sessions booked by 30 November and delivered throughout December 2024 to February 2025.

Fundamentals of Complaint Handling
Designed for frontline staff, supervisors, and managers across public, community and private sectors, this workshop equips participants with best-practice approaches to complaint handling, effective communication strategies and how to leverage complaints to improve service delivery.

Managing Unreasonable Conduct by a Complainant
The workshop will help supervisors, managers, and frontline staff learn how to identify and manage unreasonable conduct and deliver effective prevention and resolution policies and strategies.

Administrative Law in the Public Sector
Policy and program developers, grants administrators, investigators and those responsible for use of technology would benefit from this practical Administrative Law course covering the application of administrative law in public sector decision making, policy, program planning and delivery.

To register for this training, please click here.

Information Session about

Health Policy and Planning

University of Sydney
18 November, Online
Free | Register here

Applications to commence postgraduate study in Health Policy and Planning in Semester 1 2024 are now open and close on 31st January 2024.

We will be holding a webinar where Professor Andrew Wilson and Dr Gai Moore will talk about what the program offers, as well as providing opportunities to ask any questions you have about the program. Available scholarship information will be provided during the webinar.

Self-Care for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Workers
LEAD
3 December, Seven Hills
Free - $45 | Register here

During this in-person workshop we will explore the risks of compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious trauma with a view to growing your resilience and strength in ways that will help you keep track of, account for and assist in resisting the negative outcomes of working with people experiencing trauma.

Facilitated by Sigrid Herring, who has more than 25 years’ experience managing community-based services and projects.

Financial Wellbeing and Capability Activity
Closing Date: 2 December 2024

Grant opportunities for programs delivered through the Financial Wellbeing and Capability (FWC) Activity are now open for application, for new 5-year grants from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2030.

Grant opportunities for the following programs are available at GrantConnect:

Pride Foundation Australia Small Grants
Closing Date: 18 November 2024

The Small Grants program supports projects proposed by individuals and or organisations and or communities who would otherwise be limited by the constraints of other funding programs.

The maximum grant has been increased to $1000 in 2022 and there will be more grants awarded (if successful) each round. The project needs to directly or indirectly assist, involve and benefit LGBTQIA+ people and promote positive social outcomes and mental health in the community.

For more information, please visit the grant information page.

Some of the latest from our Jobs Board:

Policy and Research Officers - Two positions (Inner City Sydney) - NCOSS - VIEW JOB

First Nations Social Justice Graduate Program (Sydney CBD) - Justice and Equity Centre - VIEW JOB

Community Health Promotion Officer – Trans Health Equity (Sydney CBD) - ACON - VIEW JOB

Homelessness Caseworker (Inner West Sydney) - The Gender Centre - VIEW JOB

Manager Community & Culture (Central West NSW) - Lithgow City Council - VIEW JOB

Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Worker/Case Management Worker (Sydney CBD) - Justice Support Centre - VIEW JOB

NCOSS gives its members the opportunity to share their stories, research, resources, events and more through NCOSS eNews. If you have something to share with the sector, send through a short blurb (50-70 words), image (250 x 250px) and relevant links to info@ncoss.org.au.

We will endeavour to add it to an edition of NCOSS e-News (goes out every fortnight on Thursday morning). Deadline for content is 5:00pm on Monday, the week of publication. The next deadline is Monday, 25 November 2024.