Close to 700,000 Queensland households can’t put enough food on the table to stay healthy, happy and out of hunger.  

The Foodbank Hunger Report shows Queenslanders are feeling the bite when it comes to finding sufficient food to feed themselves and their families. 

Foodbank Queensland CEO Jess Watkinson said the Hunger Report findings showed a critical need for more to be done to alleviate food insecurity. 

“1 in 5 Queensland households skipped meals or scrimped on their serving sizes in the last 12 months because of severe food insecurity,” Ms Watkinson said. 

“Food insecurity is being felt more acutely in regional areas, with 36% of regional households facing food insecurity in the last 12 months, compared with 28% in metropolitan areas.” 

“Knowing where to find food relief support has increased from 36% last year to 47% this year. This is a glimmer of hope that those going without are finding out and accessing food relief; however, this shows that Foodbank Queensland’s role is more critical than ever.”  

Key Queensland statistics:  

• Close to 700,000 Queensland households have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months, meaning they aren’t eating quality, variety, or desirable food.  

• 1 in 5 Queensland households have experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months, meaning they are reducing serving sizes of meals or skipping eating. 

• Nearly half (44%) of Queensland’s low-income households (earning less than $30,000 per year) are experiencing food insecurity. 

• Over 1 in 5 (22%) Queensland households with an income of more than $95,000 are food insecure. 

• More than 1 in 4 (26%) of mortgage holders in Queensland experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. 

• Food insecurity is being felt more acutely in regional areas (36%) compared to metropolitan areas (28%).  

• Awareness of food relief support in Queensland is growing with 47% of food insecure households knowing where to seek food relief support in the past 12 months compared to 36% in 2023. 

Queensland has received significant support for its disaster preparedness, with Amazon Australia launching a new network of six Disaster Relief Supply Points in Cairns, Wangetti, Townsville, Rockhampton, Dalby and St George. Developed in partnership with Foodbank Queensland and Australian Red Cross, these Disaster Relief Supply Points contain critical supplies that can be dispatched quickly to regional communities when a disaster hits.  

Queensland is Australia’s most disaster-prone state and has been hit by almost 100 natural disasters in the past decade1. From today, all six Disaster Relief Supply Points will be operational across Queensland, storing over 55,000 emergency items including toiletries, blankets, tarps, first aid kits and non-perishable food items. These items have been packed into kits by Amazon volunteers and pre-positioned ready for fast and efficient collection and distribution by various organisations, charities and local disaster groups. Distribution will vary dependent on the type of disaster and response required. 

Amazon Australia has worked closely with Foodbank Queensland to identify and engage partner organisations embedded in these local communities to store these supplies until they are needed.  The collaboration between organisations like Australian Red Cross and Foodbank Queensland supports the timely and efficient mobilisation of essential items to ensure the delivery of supplies to where they are needed most.  

Amazon uses its data expertise alongside insights from its non-profit partners to identify the relief items most commonly needed on the ground when a disaster strikes. Wherever possible, products have been sourced and purchased from Amazon Australia’s small and medium sized business selling partners including Nakie, Little Urchin, Bunji, Zenify, Joonya and Juuni. 

Items stored within the Disaster Relief Supply Points have been shipped to regional Queensland from Amazon Australia’s existing Disaster Relief network, located in Amazon’s fulfilment centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The Amazon Disaster Relief network in Australia currently stores more than 250,000 emergency items. 

Amazon’s Community Lead, Charlotte Richardsonsaid: “Typically, Amazon Australia’s Disaster Relief network aims to provide emergency supplies to disaster zones within 72 hours, but this can be more challenging for regional and remote residents. By pre-positioning items within regional and remote communities, locals can rest assured the charities supporting them when disaster hits have much faster access to emergency supplies than if they were sent from Brisbane or Sydney.” 

Australian Red Cross Queensland Director, Collin Sivalingum said:“Our partnerships, such as the one we have with Amazon Australia, enable us to be there for everyone, always. Right now, as part of our seasonal preparedness activities, Australian Red Cross is working closely with local government authorities to build capacity in accessing essential items and support communities impacted by disasters. These new Amazon Australia Disaster Relief Supply Points, established across regional Queensland, will play a key role helping our collective efforts towards being there for Queenslanders during disasters at a time when they need us most.” 

Foodbank Queensland Chief Executive Officer, Jess Watkinson said: “Foodbank Queensland is incredibly thankful for our partnership with Amazon Australia, which allows us to locate supplies and be able to immediately support communities on the road to recovery. With the opening of these new locations across regional Queensland, we will be able to reach more people quickly in times of crisis and we are grateful to our partners across the state for providing the storage locations for these much-needed supplies.”   

Disaster Relief Hubs are a signature part of Amazon Australia’s local community relief efforts. Since the devastating 2019-20 bushfires, Amazon Australia has sourced and dispatched more than 700,000 relief items through 15 disasters including bushfires, floods, cyclones and COVID outbreaks.