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What do our customers say?
Our 2024 Customer Survey, conducted last October, gave us a real insight into our customers circumstances. We gained more information on who our customers are, why they are seeking food relief and how this has affected them in their daily lives.
A shocking 89% of customers surveyed said that the reason they didn’t have enough food was because they had to prioritise other more important things they had to pay for such as rent, bills and medicine. 87% agreed food was far too expensive to purchase at regular supermarkets.
The survey also revealed that 71% of participants use Foodbank as their first choice for grocery shopping, with 85% accessing our services for protein (59%), grocery (87%) and fruit and vegetables (85%). We were grateful to see that many customers expressed their gratitude for our services and the positive impact it has had on their lives with staff described as helpful, welcoming and respectful.
We often hear about people skipping meals to feed their children or even their pets – just over half of the customers who responded to the survey backed up this claim. They said that they were hungry but didn’t eat because they didn’t have enough money for food, almost 80% said they had to cut the size of their meal or skip it altogether, almost half were worried about their food running out before they could afford to buy more, while 34% admitted to losing weight because of a lack of money to buy food.
The survey also enabled us to gather some very valuable information about what our customers would like to see improved or more of, and thanks to generous funding, we have already been able to get the ball rolling on serval initiatives to improve the overall customer experience. This includes a state-wide project to carry more culturally diverse and dietary-specific foods, including vegetarian and gluten-free options and wanting more budget-friendly meats and essential household items.
Calls for better signage have been addressed at all of our branches, and we are working on a more diverse product selection and product availability through our Everyday Food Essential expansion project which is scheduled for roll-out in July.
The survey responses showed clearly how the cost-of-living crisis has impacted households of varying demographics, those renting (56%), homeowners (37%) and a huge 71% of people who indicated that they lived with other people such as family or housemates to help make end meet.
The food and grocery budget is usually the first thing most people cut leading to a fast-growing problem of food insecurity. It can affect anyone and could be the next-door neighbour, a family member or a friend and it is not necessarily obvious. It is an issue that remains hidden due to the stigma attached to reaching out for help.
We encourage people to come to us before their circumstances dictate that they are in trouble of losing the roof over their heads or that they have to turn their electricity off or not change the tyres on their car. We not only offer very affordable and nutritious food for families that are on a shoestring budget. By shopping with us, a small part of an already stretched budget can make all the difference.