Food insecurity affects approximately 3.7 million Australians — roughly 15% of the population — who experience uncertainty about whether they will have enough food. The causes are structural: housing costs, unemployment, welfare inadequacy, and rising food prices have converged to create a food crisis. Grant funding supports food relief organisations, community kitchens, food rescue operations, and the food access programmes that ensure Australians don't go hungry — while longer-term advocacy addresses the structural causes.
Scale
Who experiences food insecurity
Why food insecurity is growing
Department of Social Services (DSS)
Emergency relief — including food relief — through DSS-funded NGOs.
Foodbank Australia (partly government, partly philanthropy)
Major food rescue and distribution organisation receiving some government support.
School breakfast and lunch programmes
Some state governments fund school breakfast programmes — variable by state.
NDIS
Some food support for people with disability through NDIS.
Foodbank Australia and state Foodbanks
Largest food relief organisation:
- Food rescue (intercepting food before waste)
- Grocery programme
- School breakfast and lunch programmes
SecondBite
National food rescue organisation — redistribution of fresh food.
OzHarvest
Food rescue and community cooking:
- Nourish programme (cooking education)
- FEAST programme (cooking skills for people experiencing disadvantage)
- Food rescue and distribution
St Vincent de Paul Society
Emergency food hampers and community meals.
Salvation Army
Food aid and emergency relief.
Meals on Wheels
Delivered meals for homebound older adults and people with disability.
Various community food organisations
Community pantries, food hubs, and neighbourhood food programmes.
Food rescue and redistribution
Emergency food relief
Community kitchens and meals
School food programmes
Culturally appropriate food
Community gardens
Food literacy and cooking skills
Indigenous food sovereignty
Food systems advocacy
Australia has one of the world's most concentrated grocery markets — Coles and Woolworths control approximately 65% of grocery retail. This has significant implications:
- Price gouging during inflation
- Food desert in areas without competition
- Supplier pricing and market power
Community food organisations often advocate for structural market reform alongside providing direct food relief.
Dignity and agency
Food relief should preserve dignity — not require people to queue for charity. Applications that frame food access in terms of dignity (community pantries, pay-what-you-can models) are more sophisticated.
Food rescue environmental co-benefit
Food waste is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Food rescue programmes have environmental co-benefits alongside food security outcomes — this double dividend engages environmental funders.
Cooking skills and agency
Providing food is immediate; building cooking skills and food literacy creates longer-term change. Applications that combine food relief with skills-building are more comprehensive.
Aboriginal food sovereignty
Indigenous food sovereignty — reconnecting with traditional foods and food systems — is both food security and cultural healing. Applications supporting this framing engage both food and Indigenous funders.
Tahua's grants management platform supports food security funders and community food organisations — with beneficiary tracking, food relief measurement, kitchen programme data, and the reporting tools that help food funders demonstrate their investment in ending food insecurity and building healthy food communities across Australia.