Posted November 15, 2020 05:24:52Walmart shoppers are being forced into poverty by the floodwaters that have devastated their neighbourhoods and devastated their lives.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Tuesday that a total of 7.9 million households in Australia were in a “food insecurity” state, with 4.5 million households reporting they were “food insecure” on an annual basis.
It said that food insecurity was the most prevalent “food and nutritional” situation, with an estimated 30 per cent of households experiencing it.
“In Australia, more than half of households in food insecure households have been left with an average household income of $27,500.
Of these, 5 per cent are in food insecurity and 5 per cen.
are in extreme poverty,” the ABS said.
“In extreme poverty, people are unable to pay the rent or utilities, or they are unable or unwilling to cook for themselves and their families, and often have to rely on others to do so.
The ABS also said that while people in food-insecure households are living in the most vulnerable conditions, there is a “substantial amount of work that remains to be done”.”
People are in a precarious situation,” the agency said.”
They are in debt to their landlords, they are in financial stress, they may be living in a single-room occupancy dwelling, and they are facing an inability to pay rent.
“The ABS data showed that the average household was $24,000 in a food insecure household.
More than 30 perc.
people living in food and nutritional insecurity are living with or without dependants.
According to the ABS, the food insecurity rate was highest in the Greater Brisbane region, where 41 per cent reported food insecurity.
However, that region also experienced the highest rate of extreme poverty with 28 per cent experiencing extreme poverty.”
The report also found that an average family of four in food secured households earns about $10,000 a year. “
However, the majority of these households have incomes under $30k.”
The report also found that an average family of four in food secured households earns about $10,000 a year.
ABS said that of the 7.1 million households with an annual income of more than $27k, more then half (54 per cent) were in food insesion and a similar proportion (50 per cent).
“The food insecure people are also at increased risk of being at risk of falling further into poverty, which could result in homelessness and reduced support to their families,” the department said.
It said about 1.1 per cent people in extreme food insistions lived in extreme housing, with the most extreme housing in Brisbane being a single room occupancy dwelling.
“Some of the food insitions with the highest concentrations of extreme housing are in the inner-west and regional areas, where housing is relatively expensive, and food insecurity is most prevalent,” the statement said.ABS also said the food insecure were also the most likely to have experienced “food bank” or “food pantry” services, with almost 80 per cent having either.
This included 37 per cent who reported having food bank, 16 per cent food pantry, 14 per cent homeless services, 11 per cent jobseeker support services, 10 per cent employment services and 8 per cent other.
“A lot of these food banks are run by churches, so they’re pretty popular in the churches, especially in those areas,” it said.
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