The co-occurrence of food insecurity and other hardships in Australia
Melbourne Institute Working Paper No. 18/23
Date: December 2023
Author(s):
Abstract
Food insecurity—the lack of access to enough food for an active, healthy life—has many causes, including insufficient incomes, high levels of competing expenditure needs, and inadequate facilities to store and prepare food. These and other characteristics that contribute to food insecurity may also contribute to other personal and household hardships, meaning that many people may experience food insecurity as one of several co-occurring hardships. This study examines people’s experiences of (1) food insecurity, (2) poor financial wellbeing, (3) poor physical health and long-term disability, (4) low levels of social support, and (5) inadequate economic resources and housing stress, using 2020 data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. The study finds food insecurity typically co-occurs with other hardships. Among Australians who are food insecure, nearly two thirds experience one of the other hardships that we examine, and just under one third experience multiple other hardships.