Australia may be poised to emerge this week from its mathematical recession, but food bank organiser Christine Mastello sees only a growing line of despair.
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"Would they like to nick out to my food bank for a couple of hours?" Ms Mastello said on Monday, the same day economists predicted a positive growth figure when the September quarter national accounts are published this week.
Demand for Ms Mastello's Southlake Marketplace has more than doubled since the start of this year as the pandemic has pushed people out of work, left many on JobKeeper and exposed others to domestic violence.
"We used to help about 400 people a week, and then during COVID and since we opened [the economy] back up we're still doing 800 to 1000 people a week," she said.
"At Christmas we do about 300 hampers and toys for about 280 to 300 children. We're now the first of December and we're still getting emails and phone calls and we've already got 600 on our books."
Southlakes Marketplace operates two food banks in Lake Macquarie and three on the Central Coast, each selling heavily discounted groceries or giving them away. It is handing out up to 100 free food bags a week, up from 15 before the pandemic.
Many of Ms Mastello's new clients are out of work for the first time in their lives. Most are aged between 30 and 50.
"They're really worried about Christmas. These are hundreds and hundreds of families who have always been able to provide for the children and do special things and take them on holidays.
"They've lived a hard-working, good life, and this Christmas has really stumped them.
"JobKeeper is great, and I really applaud the government for doing it, but, if you were earning a lot of money, $1500 doesn't really do much when you've got children and private school fees, car loans."
She also fears what will happen when JobKeeper and Jobseeker supplements run out in March.
"I honestly don't know. Obviously, we'll get more people. I think there will be more suicides, because this is just unprecedented. People just don't know how to deal with this."
Ms Costello and Ann-Maria Martin, from Cardiff-based Survivors R Us, agreed that demand had spiked again in recent weeks after the subsidies dropped to lower levels at the end of September.
Shortland MP Pat Conroy visited local food banks and charities last week before making a speech in Parliament on Monday night attacking what he labelled the government's "cruelty".
"I call on the government to stop these cuts, which will go deeper in the new year, to ensure the families in my electorate can have food on the table and a roof over their heads," he said.
Ms Costello said the spike in domestic violence was "nothing we've ever encountered before".
"I would say two thirds of the increase are people who have lost their jobs, and husbands and wives who've both lost their jobs, and a third are women that have fled domestic violence."
Ms Martin said the number of domestic abuse victims seeking help from Survivors R Us had grown 65 per cent during the pandemic.
"We're finding a lot more men are committing suicide because they can't talk about it," she said.
Her food-bank clients had grown from about 100 to 500 during the pandemic, including a sharp rise when the subsidies dropped.
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IN THE NEWS
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
