Peter Hwang’s Post

Why isn't the food at Foodbank WA free? TLDR: because Foodbank WA is woefully underfunded. -------------- I read an article about Foodbank and similar services' prices in October last year: https://lnkd.in/gqBCEMZg I was shocked to see how much things cost. I hadn't realised packaged goods at these services often weren't cheaper than the grocery chains, especially when you throw Aldi into the mix. As someone who often shops the specials on my grocery run, I was taken aback. Serendipitously, I was invited to visit WA's Perth Airport Foodbank in early December through a mutual friend's introduction to their impressive CEO, Kate O'Hara. -------------- Kate gave me a full tour of their monumental operation. Here's some fascinating facts: >> Foodbank WA trucks food all over our vast state. The food has to travel from the two collections centres - Perth Airport and Bunbury - up to 2,000kms away to our northern areas. >> They provide food for over 500 schools, to feed the kids that turn up so hungry they can't concentrate. Those schools are also all over the state. With no storage north of Geraldton, timely refrigerated trucking is a must. >> Their storage facility at Perth Airport is enormous. They used to have six months of inventory in their full warehouse. Now, the same amount is only enough for three months, such is the growth in demand for the food. >> In 2022, around 24% of the people using the service owned their home with a mortgage. In 2023, that share grew to 43% (!) thanks to all the interest rate rises. >> If you're buying fruit or veg, it's a flat $0.20 a kilo in Perth and $0.50 in one of their five regional branches. Basics like rice, pasta and milk also have fixed, low prices. >> Along with the grocery store, Foodbank runs programs to help people learn to make the most of the food they can get, and provides resources. They're trying to help people learn essential skills and maintain nutrition at the same time. -------------- The cost of providing this service for ~16,000 West Australians is approximately $14 million a year. That’s an average of $875 per customer. A lot of that is in trucking and storage costs, as you can imagine for a state of our size. They're also having to buy some food, such as meat (more people are buying cheap options so fewer donations arriving). Now guess how much government funding Foodbank WA gets. . . . . . . . $1 million a year. They have to raise as much corporate sponsorship as they can, but that doesn't fully plug the $13 million funding gap. Customers have to pay at least something to make the operation viable. -------------- Apparently the Germans have a saying: "Charity is a failure of government. " This is an example of such a failure, especially against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis. Hungry families can't thrive. Their kids can't learn effectively in school. The flow-on effect will be felt for generations. Please, WA government: fund food for those who need it.

Saving money on groceries doesn't have to be hard. In fact, with a few simple tips, you can easily slash your food budget without having to sacrifice nutrition or taste. So whether you're looking to save for a rainy day or just want to get the most bang for your buck, read on for our top tips on how to save money on groceries. First, consider getting groceries delivered to you! Check out Whole Foods on Amazon! Tips to keep in mind When it comes to saving money, one of the best https://lnkd.in/e7pBbwJy

Saving money on groceries doesn't have to be hard. In fact, with a few simple tips, you can easily slash your food budget without having to sacrifice nutrition or taste. So whether you're looking to save for a rainy day or just want to get the most bang for your buck, read on for our top tips on how to save money on groceries. First, consider getting groceries delivered to you! Check out Whole Foods on Amazon! Tips to keep in mind When it comes to saving money, one of the best https://lnkd.in/eqSgaU9W

Eating at home is the tried and true way to save money on meals, but the price of groceries is up. The right grocery store shopping strategies can help you keep costs down. If you’re feeling sticker shock at the store, here's how to save money on groceries. 1. Make a list and stick to it. 2. Compare prices between stores 3. Take advantage of sales and coupons 4. Buy in bulk when possible 5. Plan ahead for meals and snacks #nwpcu #creditunions #saving #groceryshopping

Seven Sharp fails grocery shoppers I had a minor eye procedure on Monday which left me on the couch with little to do than watch the telly. Being a former journalist I am mindful of the parlous state the industry finds itself, and in awe of the bravery of the staff who remain. But though I sympathise with our media and the stresses they are under, an item on Seven Sharp struck me as being particularly poor. It was about the rising cost of groceries and how it had partnered with supermarket chain, New World, in a campaign, to help families who can't afford the weekly shop. I was immediately interested. I chair the Grocery Action Group (GAG) set up to bring down the price of groceries for all Kiwis. But the news segment was just an advertisement for New World. It was tone deaf, airing at a time when competition regulator, the Commerce Commission has found the duopoly of Foodstuffs (New World) and Woolworths are making higher profits than expected under workable competition, that there is unfair competition and unfair pricing. Wouldn’t it be better, I thought, if the supermarkets just fixed that issue, rather than creating a feel-good campaign that would only assist a few and duped the media into making them heroes for doing so? As an editor, younger reporters sometimes asked me why I went into journalism – my answer was one word ‘outrage’. So when I saw this piece of ‘journalism’, I was outraged. I sympathise with the recipients of this “Family 2 Family” campaign. It works by customers filling up a bag of non-perishable groceries and donating it. If you haven’t got time New World fills the bag and you donate $20. New World delivers those donated groceries to foodbanks and city missions. It also gives $250,000, while of course retaining millions more in profits from its overpriced groceries. Where was the questioning by the reporter of the systemic problem here? We suffer from some of the most expensive groceries in the world, simply because we do not have real competition. New World can charge hefty prices to people who cannot afford to pay them. Christchurch City Mission staff noted an increase in the number of working people using their services, the aged, and those whose circumstances had changed and had gone from two incomes to one.  The cynic in me wonders why at this time New World would bring us this segment – presumably it paid substantially for it? But why wasn’t the antennae up at TVNZ?  Ironically, the item appeared the same day new research showed trust in journalism had shrunk to a new low. The survey, the fifth done by AUT’s Centre for Journalism Media and Democracy, found trust in news had fallen from 42% in 2023 to 33% this year. Consumer NZ’s sentiment tracker puts cost of living as the biggest stressor for consumers. So, to present a duopoly supermarket such as New World’s campaign as part of the solution to a cost of living crisis, left me, well, outraged. https://lnkd.in/gmdbvc5U

Do you think that clipping coupons is the only way to #savemoney on groceries? See what this article says. #moneytips

Do you think that clipping coupons is the only way to #savemoney on groceries? See what this article says. #moneytips

As many of us battle with high food costs, here are a few strategies you can use to lower your grocery bill.

As many of us battle with high food costs, here are a few strategies you can use to lower your grocery bill.

As many of us battle with high food costs, here are a few strategies you can use to lower your grocery bill.