Employment no defence against going hungry, Victorian Council of Social Services says

Having a job doesn’t necessarily make it easy to put food on the table — a third of Australians living below the poverty line are employed, a leading welfare agency says.

Tracey O'Connell volunteering at Pantry 5000, the Carrum food charity she says helped turn her life around. Picture: Penny Stephens.

HAVING a job no longer guarantees protection against going hungry, a leading social advocacy body says.

Victorian Council of Social Services chief executive Emma King said a third of all Australians living below the poverty line were employed.

Ms King said many people were only a single traumatic life event away from poverty.

“They just don’t have enough hours or aren’t paid well enough to make ends meet,” she said.

“Insecure work, underemployment, stagnant wages and a reduction in penalty rates, combined with rising energy and housing costs, are producing a toxic brew, making everybody vulnerable,” Ms King said.

“Losing your job, getting hurt or developing an expensive medical condition can tip you over the edge.”

FEED MELBOURNE APPEAL TURNS 10

FOOD FEARS REAL FOR STRUGGLING FAMILIES

“It’s easy to go through life thinking: ‘That will never happen to me’. Unfortunately, the old saying ‘It could happen to anybody’ has rarely been truer.

“That’s why it’s so crucial we support all Victorians, including those living in poverty but also those at risk of sliding into hardship.”

And with power prices so high, Ms King said many Victorians would have to decide between heating and eating this winter.

“We live in a modern and prosperous society. Such heartbreaking choices shouldn’t be so commonplace,” Ms King said.

TIPPING POINT OF A $4500 ENERGY BILL

Tracey O’Connell may have a job, but she says finances are a constant struggle.

The most recent blow was $4500 electricity bill after her energy provider had mistakenly failed to charge her for almost three years.

“I had AGL for my gas and electricity. You know when you get so many bills you don’t look, you just pay them? I thought they were billing me for the electricity too,” Ms O’Connell said.

She now has to make fortnightly payments to cover the costs.

The single mum has had more than her fair share of incidents to push her into financial crisis.

She was employed in the pharmaceutical industry for 17 years until she was laid off a few years ago due to a workplace injury.

“That hit me very hard. It’s a career that I believe I could have well and truly retired in,” Ms O’Connell said.

She found food relief and support at Pantry 5000, a Feed Melbourne Appeal grant recipient last year.

The Carrum food charity offers a mix of grocery items, fresh produce and pre-prepared FareShare meals.

“I’d racked up my credit card bill, I had a car accident, I had an excess to pay on my car for my insurance, you know absolutely everything mounted and I just felt like I couldn’t even get out of the mess I was in,” Ms O’Connell said.

The mother of two was so grateful to the food bank she started volunteering with them and has continued to do so for three years.

“I just felt like I’d like to give back to this place that has helped me and to give back to the community too,” Ms O’Connell said.

“It’s a sense of self-worth, you don’t feel like you are just needy and taking.”

Pantry 5000 worker Ken Gooding with the new freezer the charity was able to buy with a 2017 Feed Melbourne Appeal grant. Picture: Penny Stephens.

Pantry 5000, which is run by Longbeach Parish in Melbourne’s southeast, received a grant of almost $15,000 from last year’s Feed Melbourne Appeal.

Co-ordinator Ken Gooding said some of the grant had been used to buy a new commercial freezer.

You can help make a difference by donating to the Feed Melbourne Appeal, which is now in its tenth year.

The appeal is led by Leader Community News and food rescue charity FareShare, with support from Newman’s Own Foundation.

Every dollar donated goes to food charities helping people in need.