00:02The Pantry WA is used to feeding mouths in Perth's northern suburbs, but soaring demand
00:08is changing how it operates and who it can help.
00:11We're making choices about how high we fill the box, which is incredible.
00:16So we're saying we might have to just fill the box three quarters full now.
00:21The Wangarra charity last week made the tough call to close its wait list, which Ms Woolhouse
00:26says has about 240 people.
00:28The provider now putting less fresh food in hampers and seeking more non-perishables
00:34to stretch out supply.
00:35We're going to approach maybe schools, churches, whoever there is, corporations, and see if
00:41they'll do food drives for non-perishable goods, and then we're going to try and split the hampers.
00:46Down the road, No Limits Perth is also making changes to accommodate demand, which it says
00:52has doubled since the start of the year.
00:54People would normally collect food Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and those people have
00:59now been put on to every second week to come and collect, so that we can actually double
01:03the amount of people that are on our waiting list to try and get food.
01:07The high price of fuel adding to pressures.
01:10Both services reporting people not able to get to them to pick up hampers.
01:17While ever we've got a shortage of the amount of fuels that we need to run this country,
01:23I can't see the prices coming down under that environment.
01:27While the government is tight-lipped about what cost of living measures will be in May's
01:32state budget, it says West Australians can expect more support and relief for families
01:39struggling.
01:40One of the key features of this budget will be supporting WA households, in particular those
01:45households in need with targeted support.
01:48It is up to the government, who have been in power for 10 years, to use the full clout
01:54of their budget to be able to assist West Australians.
01:58All eyes on the May budget as pressures mount amid uncertain times.
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