Food insecurity stemming from cost-of-living crisis can fuel disordered eating habits

ABC NEWS (Australia)

As cost-of-living crisis persists there is a concern that food insecurity is contributing to an increase in disordered eating behaviour. While Australians are doing what they can, there are calls for the government to ensure pantries remain stock.

Transcript

00:00In a cost of living crisis, hospitality worker Rebecca Buckley has been thinking outside

00:08the square when it comes to keeping food on the table.

00:12One of the ways that I like to make food last a little bit longer is saving the scraps and

00:19using them in like a pickle recipe.

00:24Her resourcefulness stems from former struggles with disordered eating which started when

00:29she moved out of home and ran out of money.

00:33Sort of fell into this habit of skipping meals and trying to make rent.

00:40A recent $100 rent hike brought that dangerous challenge back to the surface.

00:46I couldn't really have prepared for how much more it was going to eat out of my savings.

00:53She's one of many Australians whose disordered eating is exacerbated by the cost of living.

00:58In addition to actually helping them with their eating disorder concerns, we're now

01:02even having to assist people with advice on how they can reach out to food banks and things

01:06like that.

01:07While savvy skills are helping Rebecca stay afloat, experts say Australians need long-term

01:12solutions.

01:13The increase in prices and everything is associated with food insecurity, but I think nowadays

01:20actually almost everyone is struggling.

01:23We're calling on both the government and the opposition to invest into prevention for eating

01:27disorders.

01:29In the meantime, Rebecca Buckley is happy to share her tips to making a food budget

01:33go further.

01:34When you pull it out of the oven and they're all nice and roasted, you just chuck it in

01:37the blender and then you've got soup for days.

01:41Fending off food insecurity one dish at a time.

Category

Transcript

Recommended