Interest rate threat pushes families to food banks

Australian families are taking increasingly drastic steps to stay afloat, with some parents skipping meals while homeowners borrow against their properties to cover basic costs. Australian parents are skipping meals and homeowners are borrowing against their properties to cover basic bills as the threat of another interest rate rise looms. For some families, that means mums and dads telling their children they have “already eaten” before going without dinner themselves. And new research shows another rate rise would force more than one in five Australians surveyed to cut spending on essentials including groceries, fuel and utilities.RELATED: RBA to make Aussies lose $100k tomorrowWife convinces husband to buy home sight unseen Secret couple’s extraordinary $1 deal Foodbank Australia chief executive Kylea Tink said its 13 years of data showed increases in interest rates had repeatedly been accompanied by more Australians experiencing food hardship. “This often looks like parents sitting down, having served their children dinner, and saying to the children at the table, ‘Mum or Dad’s already eaten, so I’m not hungry,’” Ms Tink said. “And in a worst-case scenario, you’ll find that peo...