Every year Australians throw out eight billion dollars worth of food. That's equivalent to 178 kilos per person. At the same time two million people rely on food relief every years.
Eight billion dollars.
One hundred and seventy-eight kilograms of food.
Two million hungry people.
It's inconceivable.
It is easy to forget that hunger is not just a problem of the third world. In Australia we have government assistance for pensioners and the unemployed, but it isn't a lot of money and once rent and bills are paid there is not much left over for food. Then there are the times that a payment is skipped, forgotten, or late submission of a form means you drop out of the system for as long as it takes to review your case. What happens then?
