Rate rise to push more Australians to the brink as food relief sector calls for urgent government support
Tuesday 17 March 2026, Sydney & Melbourne: Australia’s leading food relief organisations are calling on the Federal Government to urgently release targeted emergency funding for food relief, following today’s Reserve Bank interest rate increase.
The sector warns that a new wave of cost-of-living pressure will drive more Australians to seek help putting food on the table – at a time when demand is already beyond what the sector can provide.
Recent Ipsos Monitor data shows financial stress is rife across the country, with 42% of households reporting it is becoming harder to afford enough food, and two-thirds of mortgage holders now struggling to keep up with grocery costs.
“This is no longer about temporary belt-tightening – it is becoming dangerously entrenched,” Kylea Tink, CEO of Foodbank Australia, said.
“There is a direct and immediate correlation between interest rate rises and demand for food relief. Every time rates go up, we see more Australians forced to turn to us for help – often for the first time.”
“Layer on top of that the impact of escalating global conflict, which is driving up fuel and transport costs across supply chains, and you have a compounding effect – households are being squeezed at the same time as it becomes more expensive for us to deliver food relief.”
Food relief providers are already experiencing sustained high demand, driven by rising grocery prices, energy costs and housing pressures.
The Ipsos data cements food as the single biggest pressure point in household budgets, ahead of energy and housing costs.
At the same time, the cost of delivering food relief is also increasing – particularly fuel, transport, and logistics – placing additional strain on already stretched services.
“Foodbank is seeing an immediate impact on transport assistance with trucking companies withdrawing pro-bono services or increasing their normal low-bono rates,” added Tink.
“Demand for food relief is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to economic stress. We see the warning signs earlier than most – long before they show up in broader economic data – and right now those signals are flashing red.”
The sector is calling on the Government to:
• Release emergency surge funding urgently to support food relief organisations through the next six months of expected demand growth
• Ensure funding is specifically directed to food relief providers, where demand is most acute
• Remove restrictions limiting funding to Emergency Relief Organisations (EROs) to enable a faster, more effective response across the full food relief network
“No one should be forced to choose between paying the bills and putting food on the table. Food relief is a vital safety net for families under financial stress, and it must be properly funded to meet rising demand,” James Goth, CEO of OzHarvest, said.
Based on current demand trends, rising costs, and expected increases in need following today’s rate rise, the sector estimates that $5 million in targeted food relief funding over the next six months would be required to:
• Meet increased demand from households under financial stress
• Offset rising operational costs, particularly fuel and transport
• Maintain continuity of supply across national food relief networks
According to SecondBite CEO Daniel Moorfield, with global instability and rising fuel costs continuing to flow through supply chains, the outlook for household food affordability is dire.
“Previous emergency funding released over Christmas was welcome, but it no longer reflects the scale of demand facing the food relief sector.
“This is a moment where timely government action can prevent hardship from becoming crisis.”
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