Solving the hunger crisis with dignity.

Lifting the quality of food relief services, tackling both hunger and poverty.

By lifting the quality of food relief services in Australia the Flinders Centre for Social Impact is tackling both hunger and poverty, empowering people in the process.

Professor Svetlana Bogomolova believes a good meal is like magic.

It’s the glue that brings people together, gathers families around dinner tables every night, and is often a mark of celebration.

And that’s not even mentioning the nutritional benefits.

“I love to eat food, I love to research food, it has healing powers to bring people together around a meal, support each other, feel included and have a good time,” Professor Bogomolova says.

“Obviously, a healthy diet also has health benefits. Good food is the protective factor for many things that could go wrong in our bodies, and even our minds.

“I think food is like magic.”

But what happens when food can’t be put on the table? That’s where food relief comes in.

Australia has various food relief models, from hampers filled with purchased and donated goods, to supermarket vouchers providing emergency relief, shared community meals and community pantries offering free or low-cost groceries.

According to Foodbank Australia’s Hunger Report 2021, 1.2 million children are living in food insecure households.

Professor Svetlana Bogomolova

Flinders Centre for Social Impact

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More than 40% of parents in situations of severe food insecurity say their children go a whole day without eating at least once a week.

The objective of Professor Bogomolova’s research is to reform the food relief sector “so people can find a pathway out of financial precarity and towards food security”.

“Historically, the criteria to qualify for food relief have been a problem. That is the first and one of the most undignified moments in a customer journey in food relief – that you have to prove you’re poor before you get support,” she says.

“That undignified moment sends people emotionally back three steps.

It’s at that most vulnerable point that Professor Bogomolova thinks there exists the greatest potential to transform lives through food.

As the Deputy Director for Flinders University’s Centre for Social Impact (CSI), Professor Bogomolova is leading an Australian Research Council Linkage Project, Towards Zero Hunger. Working with service providers such as Foodbank SA, Anglicare SA and The Food Centre, policy makers Wellbeing SA and the Department of Human Services as well as community members and consumers, the project aims to lift the quality of food relief services in Australia.

The CSI team is working in partnership with providers of three kinds of food relief service delivery models – hampers, food hubs and social supermarkets – to co-design service improvements and new service delivery models, contributing to the sector-wide reform.

“I love to eat food, I love to research food, it has healing powers to bring people together around a meal, support each other, feel included and have a good time,”

Food hampers filled with purchased and donated goods are designed to provide immediate practical relief, while the second model – food hubs – allow those in need to shop for free or low-cost groceries in a 'mini supermarket'.

Low-income families can access heavily discounted items with food vouchers while bread, fruit and vegetables are free.

The third model – the social supermarket – goes one step further.

“A social supermarket is like a local low-cost supermarket with wraparound services, supports and opportunities for social connection and engagement through food,” Professor Bogomolova says.

“There is usually a café or space where you can sit down and speak with people who are in similar situations, or volunteers who can chat to you about other opportunities and services such as financial counselling or work-experience opportunities.

“It is about leveraging the moment of food insecurity as a window of opportunity to engage a person and offer them additional supports that addresses the root causes of their challenges, rather than just ‘bandaging’ by giving them food every week.”

Recognising that different food relief models all have a place, Professor Bogomolova says the key question is “are we solving the food insecurity problem in Australia if all we are doing is just giving out food?”

“How do we use the emergency food relief moment to connect people to services, opportunities to build on their strengths, and create pathways out of poverty?” she says.

Professor Bogomolova says there are many reasons why people experience food poverty.

“Problems can spiral very quickly and very dramatically,” she says. “When someone presents at an agency saying ‘hey, I’m hungry, I need food’, that moment is emotionally difficult because it is admitting you need help.

“What do we need as a sector is make sure that first point of contact is as supportive and as dignified as possible. That's where our research is making a difference.”