More people each month are seeking help from Esperance Care Services. Photo: Nikki Bailey.
Food insecurity has become a major concern for Australia’s regional communities, and as costs rise again, some Esperance charities are struggling to keep up with appeals for food aid.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed food prices in Australia increased 3.2 per cent between March 2024 and March 2025, with a 1.2 per cent rise in the last quarter.
The average Western Australian family spends $209 per week, according to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
And the most recent Regional Price Index showed food prices in WA are higher in regional locations because of transport distances and costs.
Esperance charity Emergency Care Services (ECS) has had a rise in the number of residents requiring desperate help.
ECS assistant manager Tim Curry said they have been providing relief through food hampers and vouchers but the cost of food was “getting ridiculous”.
“I believe we have around 130 families on average [come in] per month,” Mr Curry said.
“Everything’s getting expensive, it’s not slowing down, and I don’t think it’s going to get better.”
Mr Curry said food concerns had been compacted by other cost of living factors and because ECS had limited funding, it was becoming difficult to assist everyone in need.
“We’re self-funded through our op shop and other donations but we are struggling because our kitty is running low as well,” he said.
“We have limited government funding so we can’t do a lot – we can do what we can do and that’s about it really.
“It makes things hard and we are seeing more and more people each month but can only give so much.
“I have no answers on how to manage [the situation] really.”
Some Esperance residents have taken to Facebook to express their outrage about food costs.
“People are choosing between fuel and food, pensioners are skipping meals and parents are putting back basics because they can’t stretch $50 past Tuesday… this isn’t just inconvenience anymore, it’s actually unliveable,” one comment said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the presence of supermarket competition could drive prices down.
But as of June this year, just two owners will hold the supermarket monopoly in Esperance, after Guru Merchants Pty Ltd bought out the Pink Lake IGA.
Talks of a third major supermarket by the Esperance Shire have been in the works for more than a decade.
The Shire’s Commercial Centre Strategy report from 2010 states Coles was “interested in establishing a store in town” and that the supermarket “had been involved in discussions with the Shire to find a suitable site”.
A shire spokesperson did not directly respond to questions about the progress of these discussions with Coles for “confidential” reasons but said the Shire “takes every opportunity to advocate for services on behalf of this region’s remote community”.
“In general, a new supermarket has the potential to bring further development, competition, and employment to Esperance, further expanding our regional economy,” the Shire spokesperson said.
“Commercial land is available for another supermarket in the Esperance Region; the land that is available however may not suit the needs, wants or constraints of individual developers.
“The location of any large potential commercial development such as this would be dependent on the intentions, resources and plans of the developer involved.”
In the last year, 38 per cent of Australians said their shopping bill was creating financial stress compared to 21 per cent in 2021, according to the Finder tracker.
