The sad number of Queensland parents skipping meals for their kids during cost-of-living crisis

An alarming number of Queensland parents have been skipping meals, with a new report showing the harsh reality of the nation’s cost-of-living crisis.

Queensland parents are skipping up to 10 meals a week so their kids don’t starve, a startling new report has found, as the true extent of the cost-of-living crisis is laid bare.

Data collected by food relief organisation SecondBite through YouGov has revealed 89 per cent of Queenslanders started cutting back on or skipping meals every week over the past year, with 17 per cent skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner five or more times a week.

The alarming statistics showed more than 90 per cent of Queenslanders forgoing food were parents ensuring their kids did not go hungry.

Of the more than 4000 Queenslanders surveyed, most were found to skip meals three to four times a week, with 3 per cent saying they skipped a meal more than 10 times a week.

An alarming number of Queensland parents are forgoing meals to keep food on the table for their children during the cost-of-living crisis.

SecondBite chief executive Daniel Moorfield said the rapidly growing number of families struggling with food security was serious cause for concern.

“Our research shows that there is a growing number of Queenslanders who are now food-insecure as they struggle to cope with the ever-increasing costs of living,” he said.

“With one in three Australians now food insecure, our research highlights just how bad the problem is and found, of those skipping meals, four-fifths, 80 per cent, are increasingly doing this over the past year.

“Sadly, parents in Queensland are putting their dependents first with no choice but to go without themselves.”

The 2023 Hunger Report released by Foodbank in July found 3.7 million Aussie households experienced some kind of food insecurity over the past year.

Rising living costs were the No.1 cause of food insecurity, soaring by 16 per cent between 2022-23, affecting an estimated additional 383,000 households.

SecondBite chief executive Daniel Moorfield says no one should have to choose who eats in their family, as new data reveals record numbers of parents were skipping meals for their kids during the cost-of-living crisis.

In Queensland, 22 per cent of households were considered severely food insecure, and 12 per cent moderately food insecure, with more than 80 per cent saying cost of living was the reason they struggled to put food on the table.

“Given the current trend, by the end of 2023, we face the reality of half the Australian population having experienced some level of difficulty in meeting the most basic of needs -food,” the report states.

Mr Moorfield said SecondBite was working hard with more than 250 Queensland charities to combat the alarming rise by providing food relief to Queensland families.

“No one should have to choose who eats in their family,” he said.

Originally published as The sad number of Queensland parents skipping meals for their kids during cost-of-living crisis