As living costs continue to rise communities are working together to make healthy foods more accessible for everyone.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages have been one of the main contributors to the increase of Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) across households last quarter, which have increased up to 1.6 percent since December.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics study has shown that all household types have recorded increases in living costs, especially government transfer recipient and employee households, whose LCI increased by 3.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively in the last year.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Since 2013, the LCIs for employee households has been lower than retirees, pensioners and other government transfer recipients.
The LCIs for employee households (households that gain income through wages or salaries) has increased by 28.1 per cent in the last 5 years, indicating that employment doesn’t mean a more affordable living costs.
Public health nutritionist and researcher, Dr Katherine Kent said that lots of people across Australia are really struggling to buy enough healthy food, especially young people and university students.
“The cost of living crisis is affecting lots of people, and what we’re noticing is that people are looking for alternative ways to put healthy food on the table,” Dr Kent said.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
The food and non-alcoholic beverage commodity group is the only major contributor that rose consistently across household types this quarter. This indicates that all Australians represented in the study are experiencing increases in food costs, contributing to what Dr Kent calls food insecurity.
As food prices continue to rise, people are looking to community led solutions, like food co-ops and not for profit organisations like Box Divvy and Flame Tree Co-op.
“Food co-ops are set up by community members,” Dr Kent said.
“They tend to be owned by community members and they’re not for profit, so they’re not aiming to make huge markups or margins on the cost of food.”
Dr Kent also observed that people who shop at co-ops often share fresh produce, especially fruits and vegetables furthering the accessibility of healthy foods.
“It’s great to see that communities are starting to look after themselves when it comes to dealing with food insecurity because there really appears to be quite a lack of government support for people who are doing it tough beyond providing emergency food relief, which we know is not enough,” she said.
In March, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) made 20 recommendations after finalising an inquiry into Australia’s supermarkets.
“ALDI, Coles and Woolworths are some of the most profitable supermarket businesses among global peers and their average product margins have increased over the past five financial years,” the ACCC report said.
Dr Kent’s recent study found that after joining a co-op, participant food insecurity dropped by almost 23 pe rcent and severe food insecurity almost halved.
Thirroul’s Flame Tree Co-op offers a community of like-minded people where anyone can volunteer, attend crop swap events and socialise.
Retired veterinary surgeon and Director of Flame Tree Co-op in Thirroul, Mark Fetterplace said it was important to offer alternatives to supermarkets.
“We support the community chiefly by offering food that is organic, local and as plastic free as possible. We also sell some stock like home-grown produce for free,” Mr Fetterplace said.
“We have a wide range of foods, including some that are hard to find in supermarkets.
“We have a big range of flours, grains and nuts, and a big range of spices.
“Purchasing as locally as possible helps suppliers in the community and reduces the environmental damage from moving food long distances.”
Mr Fetterplace has called on the government to make it easier for communities to establish food co-ops by minimising red-tape.
