00:00 A year ago, Vanessa Newell never worried about buying food.
00:07 That changed when she was diagnosed with cancer and her partner became her carer.
00:12 I became very food insecure within a matter of weeks.
00:15 I had three part-time jobs, my partner was working.
00:20 I had some health problems, I was diagnosed with cancer and virtually overnight I didn't
00:25 have an income.
00:26 Vanessa isn't alone.
00:28 A new report from Food Charity Food Bank estimates that over the past year, 3.7 million households
00:35 didn't have enough food to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a 3% increase on last year.
00:42 The report also found that almost a quarter of households were severely food insecure,
00:47 meaning they were eating less, skipping meals or going hungry.
00:52 And almost half of all households felt anxious about whether they could consistently access
00:58 adequate food.
01:00 We now have 77% of food insecure households experiencing it for the very first time.
01:06 They are younger, they are mid to high income earners and they are people who've never been
01:12 facing these circumstances before.
01:15 Less than half of those experiencing food insecurity sought help from charities like
01:20 Food Bank.
01:21 In Vanessa's case, she knew her diet was affecting her health but didn't know what help was available.
01:26 My cancer treatment, it ravaged my body so it was really important for me to eat healthy
01:32 and I did find that quite difficult at times because it's been, fruit and veg have been
01:39 quite expensive from time to time.
01:41 The report estimates 94% of Australians have changed their grocery spending, with almost
01:46 half cutting back on fresh fruit, veg and meat.
01:50 When someone is making compromises on their diet and not getting the food that they need
01:56 to feed themselves and their family to lead a healthy and active life, that's the time
02:00 to contact Food Bank.
02:02 A growing problem with lasting consequences.
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