News

Food insecure Australians 5 times more likely to experience psychological distress

30 Jan, 2020

According to a recent study by Foodbank, Food insecure Australians like Sarah are 5 times more likely to experience psychological distress.

Sarah never used to worry about providing for her kids — she’d been a financially independent single mum for a long time. But one day things suddenly changed for her family.

“I was working at Woolworths and everything was great, that was until I fell sick. I had to quit my job, and everything slowly fell behind.”

First, she had to sacrifice after-school activities that the kids loved but were no longer affordable.

“My daughter Georgia did kickboxing for 10 years, but she had to stop doing that. Riley couldn’t do his swimming lessons.”

But the money saved wasn’t enough. Before long, Sarah was facing poverty, unable to meet even basic needs.

“It was really hard; I couldn’t afford petrol to go shopping or get snacks to put in the kids’ lunchboxes. It was really depressing and made me feel like a failure. I was living on food vouchers and all the bills were falling behind.”

Sarah had lots of friends, but they had their own families to look after. She didn’t feel like she could ask them for help or tell them how much she was struggling — leading to more isolation.

“We would have to sit out of activities with friends who would take the kids to parks or other places that I couldn’t afford to even drive to, let alone pay to get in and provide lunches for. It felt bad to always have to say no to the kids and our friends.”

As a loving mum, Sarah wants to provide the best she can for her kids. Many Australian parents feel this pressure particularly at Christmas, often ending in increased debt.

That debt burden hits many families hardest in February, when, just like Sarah, back-to-school expenses such as uniforms, stationery and even lunches become all too much. As a result, kids are robbed of their full potential and parents feel shame and anxiety.

“I got to a point where I thought I might have to send my kids away to live with their dad which was pretty heart breaking.”

Fortunately Sarah, like all CAP clients, was assisted in putting small amounts of money away for things like school fees, car registration and Christmas gifts, all while paying off debt. By working with CAP, no longer will these events have the power to push clients and their kids down into poverty.