As the demand for food relief continues to affect households across the country, the likelihood of rate cuts is raising hopes that grocery cost pressures will reduce.
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00:00I'm in Hindmarsh in Adelaide's inner west and I'm standing inside the city's first free
00:06supermarket which opened about six months ago in a bid to ease cost of living for people
00:12in need as well as reduce food waste at the same time.
00:16This Oz Harvest grocery offers fresh produce, pantry items as well as cooked meals rescued
00:23from local businesses.
00:24With cost of living pressures continuing to affect many Australians, food insecurity has
00:29become extremely widespread across the country.
00:33Foodbank's hunger report last year found 3.4 million Australian households are experiencing
00:38food insecurity, including 2 million who are experiencing severe food insecurity.
00:44This means they skipped meals or ate less simply because they couldn't afford enough
00:48food.
00:49I spoke to Adelaide's Oz Harvest manager Rachel Hibble on ABC News Breakfast this morning
00:55who says demand for food relief has been higher than ever before.
00:59You'll see in the line out there now as people are lining up, you name it, as in the line
01:04people with suits, young tradesmen, young families, single mothers, there's not the
01:09original cohort that you know people may have thought are seeking food relief.
01:13The likelihood of a rate cut is raising hopes among mortgage holders that high interest
01:18repayments will finally start to unwind and according to Foodbank around 30% of mortgage
01:24households in South Australia alone have been food insecure in the past year.
01:29So it's no doubt the Reserve Bank's decision will provide some financial relief to those
01:34people but of course for people who need help the most this decision will have little impact
01:39and many believe that food insecurity still needs to be addressed at a national level.