A good diet is essential for a healthy lifestyle, but one in four Australians see nutritious food as a luxury they can't always afford. In this cost-of-living crisis, the number of families suffering from food insecurity is growing, and experts say governments are failing to take basic steps to address the problem.
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00:00 Sarah Walker is doing her best to eat healthy.
00:06 Sweet potato chips.
00:07 But in this cost of living crisis, it's not easy.
00:11 Last year, the 51-year-old mother was diagnosed with malnutrition.
00:15 She didn't have enough money to pay her bills,
00:17 so was trying to save money by skipping meals and eating cheap, processed food.
00:22 It's a lot cheaper to buy two-minute noodles than it is to buy fruit and veg.
00:28 It's estimated that one in four Australian families is suffering from food insecurity,
00:33 with ABS data showing the cost of food rising faster than almost any other part of the household budget.
00:39 But measuring the extent of the problem isn't easy.
00:42 Unlike other governments, Australia doesn't regularly collect data on food security.
00:47 The most recent official data is more than a decade old.
00:51 This is definitely a hidden problem in Australia.
00:53 If you don't measure it, you can't mend it.
00:56 So at the moment we don't have a national nutrition policy.
00:59 The policy that we do have is 30 years old.
01:02 The Department of Health says the National Food and Nutrition Policy,
01:05 which was published in 1992, is currently being updated and should be completed next year.
01:11 It also says it's working on a policy document to address food security in priority populations by 2030.
01:18 Just put them in that.
01:20 Some say that quicker action is needed.
01:22 People in this country are starving.
01:24 Sarah started her own charity to feed families in her area,
01:28 but says grassroots organisations won't solve the problem.
01:31 We shouldn't be having third world conditions in a country that's as rich as Australia.
01:36 A plea for help to tackle a severe problem.
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]