Too many children in Australia are having to miss meals or go even a day without food. And yet the government continues to pinch pennies on food assistance for the poor.
A new report shows that families using Anglican emergency relief services in Sydney are forced to detrimentally downsize meals in order to make ends meet. Even with adults giving up food so they’re children can eat, a third of the children are still having meal sizes cut and a shameful 7% are deprived of meals altogether.
The short and long-term impact of this worsening situation on children’s health, social lives and education should not be underestimated, and advocates say it’s unforgivable for the government to refuse to support the $50 a week increase in allowance payments they propose.
Tell Australia to stand up for hungry kids!
We, the undersigned, believe that Australia is prosperous enough to end poverty, so there's no excuse for children going hungry.
The figures presented by Anglicare Sydney’s new study are alarming - with parents in 33% of households having to detrimentally downsize meals and 7% going without food for entire days. Almost as bad is that what food families are able to buy, mostly noodles, provides insufficient nutrition - which is yet another form of starvation.
Aside from the hunger issue itself, an increasing number of families are struggling with numerous other hardships that come with poverty, and Chief executive for AS says it is “just appalling” that such poverty even exists in the first place in a prosperous nation like Australia.
At the root of the problem is the rising cost of housing, which is forcing these families to choose between proper nutrition and a roof over their heads. But certainly a country like Australia can do something to help these victims of what has become a global housing problem and not allow children to starve because of it. We ask you to stand up for your hungry kids and increase the food allowance poor families receive.
Thanks for your time.
