Food And Financial Hardship In Aotearoa New Zealand – Part OneWhat Is Food Insecurity And Who Is Affected?

Thursday, 23 February 2023, 11:23 am
Press Release: Visionwest

In December 2022, Visionwest Waka Whakakitenga – a West Auckland-based community trust working in regions throughout the country to provide wraparound support services to people with a variety of needs – released The One Hundred Whānau Food and Financial Hardship Report.

The Report is based on the responses of 110 client whānau (representing over 400 people) associated with Visionwest who completed an in-depth survey relating to their financial situation with a specific emphasis on food insecurity. This is Part One of a four-part series based on that report.

Lydia’s story

Lydia confesses to feeling like she’s failed as a mother. Her children are often unwell and when she takes them to the doctor it requires her to spend money she would otherwise spend on groceries and other household needs. This accentuates the problem because Lydia is convinced the illnesses endured by her children are, in part, brought on by a substandard diet.

While visiting a foodbank each week leaves her with a degree of shame because she believes she should be able to take care of her family, she has no choice. A food parcel means she is able to serve her children the nutritious fruit and vegetables they would otherwise miss out on, and it frees up a small amount of money for other essentials.

Lydia’s story is not unique in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Some facts and figures

In January 2022, during a brief hiatus in the spread of Covid, the demand on Visionwest’s Pātaka Kai was, on average, 270 food parcels per week. At the height of the February/March 2022 lockdown, this rose to over 700 parcels as a number of people were unable to work and others were isolating having contracted the virus. Seven months later, October 2022, the weekly average demand had dropped but remained at over 400 parcels. As we enter 2023, this number remains the norm (the recent weather events has pushed the number even higher).

Of the 110 whānau surveyed for Visionwest’s food and financial hardship report, approximately 95% responded that they experience food insecurity (i.e., running out of food, having to eat less, being limited in food choice etc.) at least monthly. Household food shortage was acute in 62% of homes, with food running out at least every week. 11.2% reported that their family had to eat less than optimally every day. 86% rely on assistance from others for extra food or money at least once a month to get by. Nearly all had accessed special food grants to meet the shortfall, with 77.6% accessing them monthly or more.

For these people, food insecurity is a daily reality.

What is food insecurity?

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation states, “A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.”

Mild food insecurity is when a person is uncertain about their ability to obtain food; moderate insecurity is when they compromise quality and variety or have to reduce amounts; and severe food insecurity is having to go without food for a day or more.

A significant, but not surprising finding of the One Hundred Whānau Food and Financial Hardship Report is that, despite impressions that the impacts of COVID may be retreating, needs in the third quarter of 2022 did not drop back to pre-COVID levels and a considerable number of New Zealanders are still facing food insecurity.

Who is experiencing food insecurity in New Zealand?

The demographics revealed by the report are not surprising. Most, almost 75%, were aged 25-64 and almost 6% were retirees. This means 19% were under 24 years of age, many of them children. 62% were female and 74% had children as part of their household.

Aligning with other studies, the report identified Māori and Pasifika people as being markedly overrepresented in measures of poverty and need – although, the number of NZ European/ Pākehā is growing. 42% of the respondents identified as Māori (cf. 11.5% in the Auckland population) and 21% were Pasifika (cf. 15.5% ).

Also noteworthy is that, in every measure of hardship within Visionwest’s pulse survey, Māori and Pasifika tended to be impacted more. For example, 63% of Māori surveyed ran out of food once a week, compared with 52% NZ European/Pākehā, and Māori are 10% more likely to forego medical treatment because of the costs incurred.

A significant finding of the survey is the rise in what the report termed, “The New Poor.”

The new poor

Visionwest’s survey and the subsequent report align with the impression that the financial mentors at Visionwest have had for a while: that an increasing proportion of their clients have only recently tumbled into dire financial straits. 64.5 % report that their current inability to afford food has arisen with the last two years; for 30.8%, it is within the last year.

Jo Wolferstan, Financial Mentoring Team Leader, is seeing huge changes in her client base. Reversals of fortune in formerly financially stable people are reasonably common. She says, “It’s too easy to make [Covid] a scapegoat. Covid provided a final layer of pressure that was already coming from increased living costs and high rents or high interest rates on home loans.”

The reality of poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand is that many of those facing financial struggles today were, until fairly recently, doing pretty well, or at least surviving, but Covid and the recent rapid rise in the cost-of-living has changed all that. Furthermore, while it is not surprising that a little over 70% of survey respondents listed WINZ Benefit as their main source of income, it must be noted that almost 20% were in full time employment (either salaried or self-employed).

This rise in “the new poor” is significant. These people often struggle because of the initial shame they feel at being in a situation they never expected to encounter. Before seeking help from social support systems, they have often exhausted all their savings and built up debt that will sit with them for some time.

Other effects of food and financial insecurity are often less obvious – more in Part 2 of this series.

This is Part One of Visionwest’s commentary on Food and Financial Hardship in Aotearoa New Zealand. Part Two will examine the effects of food insecurity on individuals and the communities they live in.

You can read the entire Visionwest One Hundred Whānau Food and Financial Hardship Report at https://visionwest.org.nz/about-us/resources-publications/hardship-report/.

© Scoop Media

Visionwest

Visionwest provides wraparound support services to the most vulnerable in our communities to achieve our vision of transformed lives and healthy communities.

Visionwest is one of New Zealand leading care providers, offering housing, food support, budgeting, home healthcare, youth training and employment, counselling, and early learning and care to West Auckland communities; home healthcare throughout Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua Lakes; and housing in Canterbury/Christchurch.

Contact Visionwest

• Website - www.visionwest.org.nz
• Email - communications@visionwest.org.nz
• Phone - 09 818 0700