It’s becoming harder for many Australians to afford enough healthy food, especially in regional areas, our new research shows.

We surveyed almost 700 adults across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions of New South Wales – online and through local community centres. We asked residents about their access to food, well-being, mental health and social connections.

Food insecurity means not having reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. For some, it’s the worry that their money won’t stretch to the end of the week. For others, it means skipping meals or going without so their children can eat.

Food insecurity is often described as being purely financial, but our study highlights it’s also tied to well-being and social connection.

We found more than one in three people had struggled to afford food in the past year. Those who were socially isolated or had a mental illness were twice as likely to experience food insecurity as the wider population.

In our survey, people who rated their mental health as only fair or poor were twice as likely to be food insecure. The same pattern appeared among people with diagnosed depression or anxiety.

This link likely goes both ways. The stress of wondering where your next meal will come from can take a toll on mental health, causing anxiety and fatigue. And having poor mental health can make it harder to plan meals, manage bills or ask for help.

A recent study from the United Kingdom and France reported similar results,........

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