Broome food charity calls for help as hunger report reveals widespread food insecurity for Kimberley kids

A Broome charity which supplies meals for young children has launched a fundraiser to help keep its services operational as a new report tabled in Parliament reveals widespread food insecurity for children in the Kimberley. Feed the Little Children supplies meals for children in Broome and since being established in 2012 has supplied 30,000 meals to hungry kids in the community. The charity has started a fundraiser to help keep its services running with a goal of $100,000, but the charity has received only $3000. The charity has had to halt its services previously in 2021 for three months due to COVID pressures. Feed the Little Children committee representative Alan Atchison told ABC Kimberley the organisation relied on community support to run its service. “Food insecurity is a real issue here in Broome and they’re currently putting out about 700 meals a week and that’s only on a Friday and Saturday night. That leaves five other nights unattended, so there’s lots of scope,” he said. “Fundraising is a very important part and time is volunteered by locals, services are volunteered and donated. So it really is a community effort that allows Feed the Little Children to do its thing.” It comes as the The Hungry For Change report was tabled in Parliament on June 22, revealing widespread food insecurity among children in the Kimberley. The report cited a recent cost-of-living study which found more than half of the participating households in the Kimberley region did not have enough money to buy 12 days’ worth of food. These same families could not afford 24/7 electricity, which impacted directly on their ability to store, cook and prepare meals. It also revealed the pressure on schools to feed children in the Kimberley, which often required staff to work unpaid hours. “At another Kimberley school the teachers do all of the food preparation, cooking, dishes and cleaning in their own time because they are unable to find canteen or cleaning staff,” the report stated. According to Catholic Education WA, factoring in refrigeration, cooking, labour and packaging, the cost to feed most metropolitan schools is $6 to $8 per student per day but for Kimberley schools the cost was even higher. The report also recognised the work of Feed the Little Children in Broome but understood inadequate and unreliable funding often limited its reach and sustainability. However, the Kimberley was not alone with 17 per cent of children and young people in the State living with food insecurity, according to the report. In November last year, Foodbank WA food security manager Roslyn Giglia, said Foodbank was looking at extending its services in the Kimberley to help alleviate the problem. According to Ms Giglia, remote communities in the Kimberley have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the State. “There is a lot of research that indicates remote regions in WA and remote communities in the Pilbara and Kimberley are experiencing really high levels of food insecurity,” she said at the time. To donate to Feed the Little Children visit their MyCause page.