Media Release    

The cost-of-living crisis is impacting Australians now more than ever, with fuel prices on the rise and interest rates continuing to increase, people are being forced to make impossible choices between paying for essentials like fuel and rent or putting food on the table.   

As the largest and most trusted food relief charity in the state and territory, Foodbank NSW & ACT knows hunger stretches far and wide, and impacts people from all walks of life.  

The organisation has already seen a sharp increase in the proportion of middle-income households in NSW and the ACT who have experienced food insecurity, now 40%, compared to 32% only three years ago – and demand for their services continues to grow. 

As the official charity partner for Vivid Sydney 2026, Foodbank NSW & ACT is shining a light on the scale of this crisis and calling for support to help the organisation go where hunger is ahead of World Hunger Day tomorrow (Thursday 28 May 2026).  

Recent data from the Foodbank Hunger Report shows one in three households, equal to 1.1 million across NSW and the ACT, are struggling to put food on the table. Sadly, of those, 682,000 households experience the most severe form of food insecurity, regularly skipping meals and sometimes going entire days without eating.   

Even households earning $91,000 or more aren’t immune, with almost one in five in NSW and the ACT knowing all too well what it’s like to worry about being able to put food on the table. Half of renters and 28% of mortgage holders in the state and territory have struggled to feed their families, and there has been a significant increase in households citing “changes in my household/living arrangements” as a reason for their food insecurity.   

That’s why Foodbank NSW & ACT has partnered with Vivid Sydney in 2026 – to put the scale of this crisis in the spotlight and break down the stigma around food insecurity.  

The organisation has installed one of their iconic purple Foodbank trucks at the light festival, bringing their work to life in the form of an immersive truck-packing game experience.  

John Robertson, CEO of Foodbank NSW & ACT, said the activation emphasises the real scale of the food insecurity crisis across NSW and the ACT, and invites those visiting to be part of the solution.  

Foodbank NSW & ACT works tirelessly to get food out to those who need it every day. Each year, their fleet travels more than 250,000km to deliver vital food relief to communities across the state and territory. Vivid Sydney Festival Director, Brett Sheehy AO, said he was “delighted” to be partnering with Foodbank NSW & ACT as the event’s Charity Partner in 2026.

Every dollar donated through the Vivid Sydney ticketing platform helps keep Foodbank NSW & ACT’s trucks on the road and allows them to provide two meals to someone in need. Donate today at foodbank.org.au.