TheHunger Report2025
Foodbank Victoria
In the last year, an estimated 412,146 Victorian children lived in households experiencing the most severe form of hunger –standing shoulder to shoulder, they would cover 165 kilometres of the Great Ocean Road.
503,193 Victorian households
experienced the most severe form of food insecurity, or
Overall, total food insecurity is still final year of lockdowns.
873,915 experienced food insecuritywhether that was running out of food or worrying that their than the
Rental affordability is now a symptom of hunger.
1 in 2
Victorian renters couldn’t afford enough food, often enough.
Bernadette has lived in the same house in Whittlesea for 15 years. This year, her rent jumped by $700 a month.
The mortgage struggle continues.
29%of Victorian households with a mortgage struggled to afford food, with in the most severe category, skipping meals or going days without food.
1 in 5 households earning $91,000 or more are dealing with food insecurity, and almost are amongst the most severely impacted.
503,193 households
WHO IS SKIPPING MEALS OR GOING DAYS WITHOUT FOOD?
More than 1 in 7 mortgage holders More than 1 in 4 renters
Almost 1 in 10 households earning $91,000 or more per annum
When the food runs out, that’s it.
Almost 90% of hungry Victorian households worried that their food would run out before they had money to buy more. Food should be the very last thing anyone has to worry about.
Shame stops people reaching out.
Stigma continues to be the biggest barrier for food insecure households. In regional areas, a lack of public transport is also an impediment while a lack of culturally appropriate food and cultural language barriers impact metro areas.
Foodbank is also feeling the strain.
Foodbank Victoria provides 70% of the state’s food relief, with relying on Victoria’s oldest and largest food relief charity.
Food donations are or a over the last two years as growers, manufacturers and supermarkets significantly trim
their operations and have less to donate.
Foodbank Victoria
to fill the gap in food donations. Pre COVID-19, Foodbank’s total annual spend on food was $100,000.
Now in its 13th year, the Foodbank Hunger Report is Australia’s only annual national snapshot of food insecurity. It tracks major trends and shifts in the scale and demographics of hunger in this country each year as well as documenting the human stories of hardship that underpin the research and present an urgent case for action. The Victorian spotlight is produced by Foodbank Victoria using state specific data from the national Hunger Report plus Foodbank Victoria distribution data.
Foodbank provides 70% of all the food relief delivered across Victoria every day of the year. @foodbankvictoria
foodbank.org.au