{"id":326626,"date":"2026-03-12T22:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/326626\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:03:14","slug":"one-in-three-struggle-to-buy-food-but-shame-stops-many-getting-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/326626\/","title":{"rendered":"One in three struggle to buy food \u2013 but shame stops many getting help"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly one in three New Zealand households struggled to afford food in the past year and many are too ashamed to seek help, new research from the New Zealand Food Network shows. <\/p>\n

The organisation\u2019s first-ever \u201chunger monitor\u201d, released yesterday, surveyed 3000 people across the motu and found 33% of households experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. <\/p>\n

Even among full-time workers, 30% reported they couldn\u2019t always afford enough food. NZ Food Network says this reflects the rising cost of living pushing even steady earners to the edge. <\/p>\n

The research also found 68% of what are known as \u201cfood insecure\u201d households were experiencing it for the first time this year, showing how rapidly the problem has intensified. <\/p>\n

NZ Food Network chief executive Gavin Findlay said the findings confirm what frontline food hubs have been seeing for years. <\/p>\n

\u201cFood insecurity isn\u2019t isolated to any one group – it\u2019s pervasive,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, our hubs see hard-working people who never thought they\u2019d need support, double-income families who can\u2019t keep up with costs, and everyone in between.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shame keeps people away from support <\/p>\n

Despite the growing need, many New Zealanders avoid reaching out for help. Nearly half (49%) of people experiencing trouble buying enough food said shame or embarrassment was a key barrier to seeking support. <\/p>\n

Others said they held back because they believed others needed help more (43%), or they weren\u2019t sure they were eligible (35%).<\/p>\n

\"Gavin<\/p>\n

Gavin Findlay, New Zealand Food Network CEO. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Findlay says this reluctance means many families are struggling silently. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s long been a stigma around food insecurity in Aotearoa. But the reality is that people are facing circumstances beyond their control \u2013 and stigma only keeps them in hardship longer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Impact felt across incomes, regions and communities <\/p>\n

Low-income households were the most likely to report food insecurity (48%). But the survey shows the issue cuts across economic lines, with 30% of medium-income earners and even 12% of high-income earners unable to afford enough food. <\/p>\n

Food insecurity was also widespread across ethnic groups. Around two\u2011thirds of P\u0101keh\u0101 (68%), Asian (66%) and M\u0101ori (64%) respondents experiencing food insecurity said this was their first year facing it. <\/p>\n

Farmers watch as the conflict hikes fuel prices impacting the costs of getting to market.\u00a0 (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

That figure rose to 73% for Pasifika people, the highest of any group. <\/p>\n

While rural communities face obvious access barriers, urban centres like Wellington (72%) and Auckland (71%) reported the same levels of first\u2011time food insecurity as regions like the West Coast (71%) and Nelson\u2013Tasman\u2013Marlborough (70%). <\/p>\n

The squeeze reflects the broader financial pressure on households. Nearly a third (32%) of all respondents said they found it difficult or very difficult to live on their current income. At the same time the latest Food Price Index recorded its sharpest monthly rise in four years. <\/p>\n

Demand growing faster than resources <\/p>\n

Food hubs and charities across the country are feeling the strain. <\/p>\n

\"More<\/p>\n

More have become reliant on food banks in recent years. (Source: rnz.co.nz)<\/p>\n

A quarter of severely food insecure households said the support they receive still doesn\u2019t meet their needs. <\/p>\n

Susie Robertson, chief executive of Wellington\u2019s Kaibosh Food Rescue, said food insecurity has reached a \u201ccritical\u201d level. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for partnerships across the sector, but it\u2019s getting harder to keep up as budgets tighten on all sides.\u201d <\/p>\n

Findlay agrees, saying demand is rising faster than the sector\u2019s capacity. <\/p>\n

\u201cAddressing hunger at this scale requires sustained investment,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a shared challenge and we can\u2019t do it alone.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly one in three New Zealand households struggled to afford food in the past year and many are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2917,219,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-326626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-cost-of-living","tag-economy","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}