A dollar per welfare recipient to charities? Happy Anti-Poverty Week!

“A $2 million dollar boost” to ceo-heavy vanity projects such as Ozharvest and Foodbank is more insult than cash splash from the government at the start of Antipoverty Week  for 2026. With people on welfare more than overrepresented in early death figures, and deaths of despair (addiction and mental health related deaths) happy snaps and breathy thank you from Big Names in Food Relief take over from the every day stories of people queuing up to hopefully get a free bag of veges that they hopefully don’t have to throw out too much of themselves.

"It’s the start of Anti-Poverty Week, and instead of ending government induced poverty the Minister for Social Services has announced meagre funding for emergency relief charities that amounts to less than $1 per welfare recipient, while people in this country are dying from poverty."

— 🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲 (@phonakins.com) 2026-10-12T21:39:10.852Z

I mean I only had to throw out 2/5 apples in this weeks bag, and most of the grapes are fine. At least it’s not the crumpets I was relieved my partner declined because when i went to have one the morning I brought THOSE home they had those little spots of mold you cant see through the thick plastic.

Long life milk has just gone up to $1.80 a litre at my local, after hitting $1.50 this time last year. So have most canned goods, which are still waaaay cheaper at aldi, but you know it’s not the name brands as donated with much fan fare to the purple supermarket…

Anyway

Raise the rate, build and buy public housing, put a rent freeze in place and empower people to look after themselves and their communities.

Happy Anti-Poverty Week!

I have written a million things on the folly of foodbanks already Feel free to share and quote them

https://phonakins.com/2024/12/09/xmas-shutdown-much-needed-time-off-for-volunteers-but-heres-how-long-til-the-food-banks-reopen/

https://phonakins.com/2024/11/18/love-me-some-fake-mint-clice-bikkies-but-that-foodbank-offering-needs-some-actual-food/

https://phonakins.com/2024/11/29/food-banks-are-just-a-more-expensive-way-to-get-food-that-isnt-necessarily-suitable-to-to-poor-people-prove-me-wrong/

https://phonakins.com/2025/01/15/food-banks-are-broken-just-like-the-rest-of-system-they-are-in/

https://phonakins.com/2025/04/09/anzac-biscuits-cost-more-at-the-food-bank-than-aldi-thats-it-thats-the-title/

and the og
https://phonakins.com/2023/09/10/what-are-foodbank-prices-really-like/

If you like this post help a girl out by sharing it, subscribing, or chuck us money, vouchers or groceries.