Elderly ‘halving’ charity meals to avoid starvation as leaders slam supermarkets

Elderly Queenslanders are cutting charity meals in half to preserve food amid the state’s worsening cost of living crisis, as the state’s leaders faced off over the key issue.

Elderly Queenslanders are cutting charity meals in half to preserve food and prevent starvation as not-for-profit organisations are battling to survive the state’s worsening cost of living crisis.

The soaring cost of food and supermarket pricing structure were key issues addressed at The Courier-Mail and Queensland Council of Social Service cost of living forum on Tuesday.

It heard of the increasing number of Queenslanders going without eating in an effort to keep a roof over their heads, with food charities already stretched and struggling to keep pace with rising costs.

Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli acknowledged their high-paying jobs meant cost of living was not affecting them like other people, but said they sympathised with Queenslanders as the cost of food continued to rise.

Mr Miles said holding supermarkets accountable and getting them to play a part in ensuring children had lunches at school, was critical to stop Queenslanders going hungry.

Leader of the LNP Opposition David Crisafulli and Queensland Premier Steven Miles pictured during The Courier-Mail leaders debate on Tuesday. Picture David Clark

“I do the groceries and even though it’s not a struggle like it is for so many I’ve seen first-hand those prices going up,” he said.

“I often think of those who live in my neck of the woods, how hard it must be for them to continue to afford to buy those groceries and Aidan, my middle boy, he can eat one of those big boxes of Nutri-Grain in a day and they’re $11 now.”

Mr Crisafulli labelled food prices “out of control”.

“I went to get to the grocery store the other day and I walked out with $256 worth and I carried it out … I’m not that strong,” he said.

“I look at a packet of grated cheese which is north of $10, you used to have those ads to feed your family for $10.

“You can’t even put the topping on a lasagne for $10 anymore.”

The soaring cost of food has led to more Queenslanders turning to food charities for support.

Meals on Wheels volunteers are delivering about three million meals each year to 20,000 Queenslanders, but board member Matt Webster said servicing their growing need was becoming tougher with the charity’s costs increasing up to 30 per cent over the past 18 months.

Queensland Meals on Wheels board member Matt Webster. Picture: David Clark

“We are shouldering a huge amount of work to try and help this cost of living crisis,” he said. “We see with the elderly, we’re in their kitchens, in their fridges seeing what they’re doing. “They’re halving meals, they’re thirding their meals to make them last – it’s not acceptable and we really need more help.”

Mr Webster used The Courier-Mail’s forum to ask Mr Miles and Mr Crisafulli what support they would provide to his charity.

“I’m happy to talk through the dollars of your cost increases and what it would take to support you through that, food is just so important,” Mr Miles said.

The Premier also revealed the government would consider the needs of food charities and whether he would expand the 20 per cent funding boost announced in February for organisations in the homelessness sector.

“I’m happy to look at Meals on Wheels and other services … what we’d heard from service agencies, including Queensland Council of Social Service, was that it was those critical homelessness services that really needed that upfront boost,” he said.

“I think that was the right priority. It was right to do that first. If there is more we can do with other services, I just want you to know how much we appreciate the service.’

Mr Crisafulli said Meals on Wheels would receive more cash for ongoing service delivery under his government.

“The cost of those meals just haven’t moved because they can’t move. The residents that they serve are at breaking point and they are genuinely ordering fewer meals and trying to stretch them out,” he said.

“I think there’s an argument for some ongoing fees because in the end you keep people in their home which is good for society but it’s also good for the bottom line of government too.”

Afterwards, Mr Webster said there were “quite a lot of unanswered questions” but was hopeful government support for Meals on Wheels would be expanded.

“There’s some good ideas floating around, but it really needs to be put into play to get more support given to those organisations in the room,” he said.

“Then we get a multiplying effect out in the community with benefits to them and to keep the cost of living down.”

He felt Mr Crisafulli offered more “meat” in his chat after the summit where they discussed a public-private partnership to assist support organisations, but said both leaders took a “fairly soft approach”.

Mr Miles and Mr Crisafulli used the summit to bicker over whether the government’s inquiry into supermarkets could deliver change, with Mr Crisafulli calling for the Premier to expand the probe to consider prices of government-controlled utilities.

“There’s no point having an inquiry just on something that you can’t control when the focus needed to be on both pressure on the supermarkets and how can we as a state drive down electricity, water … and we have missed a once in a generation opportunity to do that,” he said.

Mr Miles hit back, arguing Mr Crisafulli wanted to “water down” the government’s inquiry.

“I wanted it to be absolutely focused on food prices, farmgate prices and supermarkets,” he said.

“We have a separate committee called the cost of living committee that can deal with all of those other issues but I saw no good argument for diluting the focus on supermarkets.”

Mr Miles acknowledged, however, “limits to the state’s powers” would make it difficult for the supermarket inquiry to deliver meaningful change to struggling Queenslanders.

“I think the parliamentary inquiry can expose to the public some of the pricing practices, some of the way the supermarkets treat our farmers and also look right through the supply chain to see what is driving those costs,” he said.