A Western Sydney council is setting up its own community pantry in response to the rising cost of living.
Cumberland City Council will collect donations from organisations and distribute them for 12 months out of centres at Wentworthville and Auburn.
Deputy Mayor Suman Saha said he moved the motion to establish the pantry because food price hikes were a problem for many of his constituents.
"When I go to a shopping centre, [the price of] what goes into the shopping trolley changes all the time," Cr Saha said.
Cr Saha said many people in the area had lost work during the pandemic and hadn't found full time work yet, leaving them exposed to higher grocery prices.
"Those are the people now feeling the pinch of the price increase in in food and essential items," Cr Saha said.
Cost of living rises
Inflation rose by 7.3 per cent over the past 12 months to September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced last month.
The cost of basic food items has shot up over the year.
The bureau said vegetables had risen by 16.2 per cent, dairy products had risen 12.1 per cent and meat products by 7.3 per cent.
Homeowners have also been hit with rising interest rates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates to 2.85 per cent, a figure that stood at 0.1 per cent in May this year.
Turbans 4 Australia president Amar Singh said cost of living increases were driving people to seek out food relief charities.
"Cost of fuel, tolls, electricity and other living expenses [are] going up for young families in Western Sydney," Mr Singh said.
"Food cost is one of them and people find it very hard to put food on the table."
A welcome addition
The Cumberland area of Sydney's west is serviced by a number of charity programs offering food relief, including Turbans 4 Australia, who have a centre in Clyde.
Mr Singh welcomes the addition of the council-led initiative, hoping it will take some of the strain off their own service.
"We need more facilities for the growing community in south-west, especially with cost of living going up," Mr Singh said.
Vicki Wilde from Karabi Community Development Services said rising costs of transport had impacted suppliers, which had made it harder to get fruit and vegetables for relief packages.
"It's gone down to bread, milk and eggs," Ms Wilde said.
"The eggs are very scarce at the moment."
Ms Wilde said using council facilities would make it easier for people from a wide variety of backgrounds to access relief.
"Food pantries allow anyone in the door and it is such a vital need for seniors, for refugees," Ms Wilde said.
"Overseas students were completely cut off during that COVID period."
Calls for funding
Mr Singh said he would like to see the NSW state government help fund the efforts of food pantry charities as they shouldered the burden of the cost of living crisis.
"Currently we just rely on the donations and generosity of average Australians to fund what we do," Mr Singh said.
"In Victoria, there have been a large number of grants, and in Queensland as well to address food insecurity."
