Household Food Insecurity is defined by a consistent shortage of food, poor diet, fears surrounding stable access to food, lack of self-esteem and confidence as a result of unstable food provision for family, and more. Household Food Insecurity significantly affects many FTLC families. Aside from the obvious affects like hunger and malnourishment, it causes formidable anxiety, alienation, depression, as well as low self-worth and self-respect.

By consistently providing hot, healthy meals, uncertainties around food supplies are alleviated, and physical impairments due to lack of nutrition are combated. Food-related crime in Broome has been significantly reduced, and we’ve seen momentous change in the community.

Middle Ear and Mastoid infections, such as Otitis Media, are a painful and serious problem for many children in the Kimberley. Due to malnourishment, their small bodies do not have the strength to naturally fight infectious diseases. Frequent infections can result in long-term hearing damage, and in some cases, permanent deafness.

Data provided by the Health Department indicates promising details regarding the FTLC Emergency Food Respite project’s effect on diseases of the Middle Ear and Mastoid. The number of hospitalisations for these conditions — which are related to symptoms of malnutrition among Indigenous children aged 1-to-9 in Broome from 2011 and 2013 — have indicated that they are significantly reduced.