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David’s Story
When David’s two children came to live with him full‑time, life turned upside down in an instant. There was immeasurable joy – but almost overnight there were also bills he’d never faced alone, Centrelink delays he couldn’t control, and a car that refused to start on the very day he needed to ferry the kids across town to school and daycare.
“Taking on two kids as a single parent was a challenge in itself. And then the restrictions in being able to earn a full income made things really, really hard.”
– David
To be there at the school gate each afternoon, David cut back his work hours, even though household costs had skyrocketed. School holidays stretched the budget to breaking point, and the Centrelink backlog meant he had to cover full childcare fees up‑front. Worse still, child‑support deductions continued to come out of his wage, even after the children were living with him.
Yet David showed the grit of every loving parent: holding down job on an injured foot, juggling medical appointments for ADHD diagnoses and racing between work and school drop‑offs.
“Sometimes you don’t know how you do it, but you just do.”
Like thousands of families across Queensland, David’s budget is swallowed by soaring housing costs – $650 a week in rent just to keep a roof over his children’s heads – before he can even think about the power bill, medication, or putting food on the table.
“I do work full time, but my rent’s $650 a week and that’s just to pay for a roof over their heads. Then you’ve got the bills and everything else.”
With so much already spoken for, the weekly food shop became a constant source of worry.
Thanks to Foodbank, food relief helped fill the pantry and ease some of the pressure.
“Getting food from Foodbank, particularly towards the end of the year, came in really handy just to be able to have the things that I would’ve probably struggled to provide.
“There’s tea, instant coffee, long‑life milk, cereal, spreads, biscuits, boxes of muesli bars, a couple of tins of fruit. A couple of times we’ve gotten one litre of cordial that you can mix up with water. It’s food that I find handy and it gets used — and the kids get excited to see it as well.”
Unpacking the food from Foodbank is now a treasured ritual.
“My daughter loves helping me put the stuff away in the pantry.”
Even a small buffer let’s David say “yes” to simple childhood joys – a shared ice‑cream, a low‑cost weekend adventure, the kind of memories every child deserves.“I want my kids to be able to have a life too, and not just spend their childhood bored, stuck at home all the time.”
Even on the toughest days, nothing compares to seeing the kids bounce on the trampoline with their new dog, safe and happy each night.
“I love having the two kids, as challenging as it can be at times.”
And to every caring Queenslander who gives so that Foodbank can keep filling those hampers, David has one heartfelt message:
“I will always be eternally grateful for the support. Keep up the great work!”
No Queenslander Should Go Hungry
Every donation helps provide essential food and groceries to Queenslanders experiencing hardship. Together, we can ensure no one goes hungry.