Hunger Monitor 2025: Food insecurity surges as cost of living bites – Editorial

Given the results as they stand, plenty of work is needed to show an improvement next time.

More than 3000 people were surveyed late last year.

Most alarmingly, the results show that one in three households struggled to access affordable, nutritious food in the past year.

Food-insecure households are those that need to compromise on the quality of their food or reduce their food consumption because of their financial position.

Nearly one in five households experienced what is considered “severe” food insecurity.

Remember, these aren’t just numbers, they’re people.

And for many, it’s an unfamiliar situation.

Nearly 70% of people who reported food insecurity said last year was the first time they struggled to afford food. And 12% of households with a combined income of more than $156,000 still reported some level of food insecurity.

The New Zealand Food Network says the higher cost of living and lower or unstable incomes are the main drivers of food insecurity.

Certainly, recent petrol price rises won’t be helping anyone’s situation as household costs increase and budgets are stretched.

The report found 40% of Waikato households struggled with food last year, a significantly larger proportion than the national average. In comparison, Auckland and Wellington both had 32% experiencing food insecurity.

The Waikato Herald reported this week that a local foodbank is struggling to keep up with record demand for food parcels.

It says it might have to start turning people away.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) in Hamilton initially budgeted for 5000 food parcels this year, but after returning from the New Year break, staff realised the demand would exceed 8000 parcels.

The foodbank’s general manager, Mike Rolton, says they’ve never experienced such high demand, not even during Covid-19, when they handed out around 4000 parcels.

Demand has gone “through the roof” recently, and the types of people seeking help from Vinnies Hamilton has changed.

Long-term unemployed people used to make up the majority of those seeking help, but this has dropped to 30% now, while working couples and home owners make up around 43% of people seeking help.

It’s a similar story at the Hamilton Combined Christian Foodbank, which says demand has risen in the last year.

The New Zealand Herald reported manager Debbie Wilson saying a significant portion of the food parcels it sends out are to first-time recipients.

She’s seen a growing need for food parcels among international students, who are struggling to find part-time work and are not entitled to any Government benefits.

And there’s increased demand from people of migrant and refugee backgrounds, apprentices who have been laid off and those who work multiple jobs but still cannot cover their food costs.

The Hunger Monitor report found Pasifika and Māori communities, along with young people aged 18-24, were disproportionately impacted by food insecurity.

And households with a disability were at an 82% risk of struggling to afford food, while single-parent households had a 70% risk.

As reported this month, the Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor, which tracks the issues New Zealanders are most concerned about, shows inflation/the cost of living continues to be the top issue for New Zealanders, as it has been for four years now.

Of course, many Kiwis donate generously to causes supporting hungry families and continue to do so through hard times, as annual appeals by NZME’s regional newspapers demonstrate. But those donations can be quickly exhausted, despite public generosity.

Given it’s an election year, and more and more of the electorate is being affected, can we expect that concern about the cost of living to translate into meaningful policy that will drive change?

Food for thought.