The rising cost of living has led to a surge in people seeking help from the ACT's welfare sector, with one leading charity revealing it assists as many 1700 people with food and essential services every week.
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Communities@Work chief executive Lynne Harwood said more than 20,000 kilograms of food – the equivalent of 2000 meals a day – was rescued through the Yellow Van program every month, while the Care&Share program, which was established two years ago and provides food and essential services, was assisting 1700 people a week.
“There's a big percentage of homeless people but there's also a lot of general disadvantage – mental health, a lot of vulnerable families just doing it tough and struggling to make ends meet,” she said.
Ms Harwood said those assisted by the programs came from all walks of life and included pensioners, single mothers and working families.
“While we are a high socio-economic welfare advantage city, there is still a percentage – about 15 to 20 per cent – who really do it tough and often live below the poverty line and are often in a cycle of disadvantage that is really hard to break,” she said.
“We've got to come to grips with the housing situation but also we need to focus on how we can break some of these cycles of disadvantage and poverty.”
Rotary Club of Canberra Foodbank representative Max Kimber said demand for food had grown by about 30 per cent. Last financial year, 338,467 kilograms of food was delivered to 22 agencies in the ACT – up from 295,540 kilograms the previous year.
A co-ordinator of the Holy Cross Tuckerbox, Kirsty Baker, said the food charity she helped run at Hackett each week would be running this Easter Saturday from 2pm to 4pm.
The Tuckerbox sells 1.4 tonnes of food at a low cost to low-socio-economic families and students – "The sort of people who live from pay to pay," Ms Baker said.
The charity was looking for a permanent location after three years at Holy Cross.
Stories that have touched her heart include a mother who said her children had the first unbroken night's sleep in several months because they had not woken up hungry.
In another sign of the cost of living pressure facing Canberra households, figures from the Environment and Sustainable Development directorate reveal the Outreach Energy and Water Efficiency program has been accessed by 992 low-income households this financial year.
There were 1075 households who accessed the program last financial year, compared with 1112 in 2011-12.
A spokesman said since 2010, the program had assisted 4360 low-income households improve energy and water efficiency and reduce energy bills and greenhouse gases.
ActewAGL figures show 1002 electricity customers participated in its Staying Connected program this financial year to date, up from 930 last financial year and 592 the year before, while 477 gas customers had participated as of December.
ActewAGL general manager retail Ayesha Razzaq said the program provided customers experiencing difficulties paying their electricity and gas bills with personalised support. It includes payment plans, energy saving tips and connecting customers with organisations able to provide support.
EnergyAustralia also offers a support program for customers facing financial difficulties.
Mr Kimber expected demand for services like Foodbank would continue to grow.
“We're keeping up with the demand as best we can but it is likely to increase and the reason is simply that the economic circumstances to the ACT are on a bit of a downturn at the moment because of reduction of public service employees,” he said.
“The result is a trickle-down effect where the lowest socio-economic groups suffer food shortages, food becomes a discretionary item and we have a significant number of people who might be referred to, sadly, as the working poor," he said.
"There is a large proportion of Canberra's population that actually relies upon low cost and free food.”
Foodbank NSW chief executive Gerry Anderson estimated that 13.2 per cent of Australians needed the organisation's help during the year.
The growing demand has also challenged organisations to remain sustainable and Ms Harwood said the Yellow Van changed its operating model this year.
“We were doing pick-up and delivery, now we're doing the pick-up, the sorting and we are liaising with the charities as to what their needs are and asking them to come and pick it up from us,” she said.
“That's really been a structured efficiency cost-saving measure so that The Yellow Van can remain sustainable.”
Ms Harwood said it was important that the welfare sector was sustainable so it could continue to help those most in need.
“Being there and providing that assistance for people who are the most vulnerable, that in itself adds a layer of compassion and quality to their life and therefore we're doing a good service,” she said.
