VAHI’s Data Request Hub is helping local community groups quantify and respond to food insecurity in Victoria, with data showing the issue varies across locations and diverse communities.
Food security organisation C Care requested data on food insecurity from VAHI to assist with targeting their activities, which include distributing food to nearly 2000 people each week.
Demand for C Care services has increased nearly six-fold since March 2020, initially driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and now being exacerbated by rising cost of living. The organisation is now onboarding an average of three new clients each day.
In seeking the data, C Care was particularly interested in whether culturally and linguistically diverse communities had different rates of food insecurity compared to the general population, and whether this varied by location and between different communities.
With the data shedding light on these issues, C Care was able to better understand the food insecurity landscape for diverse communities, optimise their strategies for supporting this demographic, and collaborate with other peak food security organisations servicing these communities.
C Care spokesperson Yosi Wolf said the VAHI data provided valuable insight into the realities on the ground.
“The stark difference between different ethnic groups' incidence of food insecurity was eye opening, as was the drastic difference between LGAs,” Mr Wolf said.
“It provided us with a broader understanding of food insecurity, well beyond the LGAs and the specific ethnic groups that we primarily service.
“Combined with other pieces of data, from our own work and from bodies we work with like FoodBank, it will help us develop our strategies moving forward and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure we have the knowledge and resources to efficiently meet the food security needs of CALD Victorians.
“We are very thankful for VAHI's assistance in this exercise and its commitment to the health needs of all Victorians.”
If you think that VAHI can provide you with data to help your organisation, please get in touch. For more information about the VAHI Data Request Hub or to make a request, please visit https://vahi.freshdesk.com