In an affluent country like Australia, no-one should be going hungry, but the reality is that in 2025 it’s estimated 1 in 3 households in NSW and the ACT do not have enough to eat. It’s prompted the Country Women’s Association of NSW to take action, using this year’s annual Awareness Week campaign to highlight the issue of food insecurity and food waste, and encouraging strategies and policies to help combat the pervasive issue.
“It’s just not good enough,” said CWA of NSW President Tanya Jolly. “We are a rich and lucky country, so to know so many people do not have enough to eat, many of them in rural and regional communities, is heartbreaking.
“It’s something all of us can do something about though, by changing the way we think about food, changing the way we shop, and learning ways to help reduce food waste and make our household budgets go further.”
CWA of NSW Awareness Week will run from 7 to 13 September, with the focus on:
• Increasing public understanding of the benefits of seasonal eating, highlighting the health, economic, and environmental benefits to consumers and local producers;
• Highlighting ways to help household grocery budgets go further – and help ease cost-of-living pressures – with strategies like consuming foods that are in season;
• Highlighting the amount of food currently wasted by Australian households each year, and ways to help reduce this waste, particularly through increased awareness and education; and
• Advocating for the introduction of a national Food Donation Tax Incentive.
“These food sustainability issues were really brought to the fore for the association at our State Conference, where there were two motions overwhelmingly endorsed by delegates, which encouraged us to pursue them as the basis for this year’s Awareness Week,” Mrs Jolly said.
The first was the tax incentive motion, and the other was that the association advocate for increasing public understanding of the benefits of seasonal eating, highlighting the health, economic, and environmental benefits to consumers and local producers.
This year’s campaign coincides with the current Federal Government call for submissions to its National Food Security Strategy discussion paper, aimed at reinforcing the resilience of the nation’s supply chains and enhancing productivity, innovation and economic growth. It’s also aiming to help address the issue of food insecurity within segments of the community, particularly low-income households and those in remote areas.
This year, the CWA of NSW campaign has two Ambassadors to help spread the message, with Orange-based food writer and seasonal eating advocate Sophie Hansen and CEO of Foodbank, Brianna Casey, both partnering with the CWA of NSW.
Sophie said she was excited to be partnering with the CWA of NSW on their food sustainability campaign, and that the association had a history of showing people the value in learning about preparing their own food, storing food and preserving food to keep it from becoming waste.
“Food is my passion, and sharing the joys of locally-grown produce and making the most of them when they’re in season is what I love to do. If more people start to think in this way, we start looking at what’s being grown around our communities, there’s more support for local producers and we start changing the way we think about food,” Sophie said.
“The result is good news for our weekly budget, good news for the environment and less food ends up in the bin at the end of the month. When so many people don’t have enough food, it’s terrible to think about how much we waste each year, so this campaign by the CWA of NSW couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Brianna Casey knows all too well the toll that food insecurity has on NSW households. As the CEO of Foodbank, the nation’s largest food relief charity, Brianna sees the impact every day and knows the value of building community awareness around reducing food waste, introducing incentives for people to do this and directing surplus food to places where it’s really needed.
“This year’s CWA of NSW’s campaign really resonates with my organisation, with a lot of shared aims and objectives. The association’s call for a National Food Donation Tax Incentive is something we’ve been advocating for as well. Our figures show that if this was implemented today, it would save around an additional 100 million meals a year by 2030, making an immeasurable difference to our sustainability and the well-being of vulnerable Australians,” Brianna said.
“Food waste is a major issue. Australia generates more than 7.6 million tonnes of food waste each year – enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Grounds nine times. It’s costing us $36.6 billion despite 70% of it being perfectly edible. At the same time more than 640,000 households in NSW and the ACT experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months, and this is being felt more acutely in the regions with 36% of households compared to 28% in metropolitan centres.
“We view this as a real crisis and anything we can do to help raise awareness, change people’s thinking and get strategies in place that can make a difference, then we are behind it 100%.”
Throughout September, CWA of NSW branches around the state will be holding their own awareness-raising activities in their communities, and highlighting the importance of increased food sustainability.
“Food security and insecurity, food miles, food sustainability, paddock to plate – they’re all terms that we have come to know in recent years and which have sparked greater interest in and awareness around where our food comes from, and how we can improve the ways we use it, source it and reduce waste,” Mrs Jolly said.
“This Awareness Week we really want to push these messages and continue to raise awareness of the issues the nation currently faces, and how strategies like a food donation tax can really help make a difference. By being more aware, we can be more conscious of how we shop and use our food, and all of that can contribute to ensuring more Australians can enjoy regular meals every day. In a country like ours that should be a right, and not a privilege.”
Inverell Sunrise CWA will hold their next food stall which will have a focus on seasonal eating- to be held on the 20th of September 9 to 12 noon outside Inverell barnyard in Otho Street.
Media Release: Country Women’s Association of NSW
