Get emergency food support
Are you struggling to pay for food or essentials? These community resources provide free meals, emergency parcels and other practical assistance.
The Ask Izzy website lists thousands of support services around Australia. Enter your postcode to find free community meals and street kitchens. You can also see school breakfast programs and emergency food services near you.
Statewide services
Foodbank is an Australian hunger relief organisation that sources food for people in need. Search by postcode to find food support services and help near you.
Anglicare offers low-cost fresh food and staples at mobile pantries and op shops. It also provides emergency food parcels for people in need.
If you are in crisis, St Vincent de Paul support centres and Vinnies Vans can help with food and other everyday essentials.
Meals on Wheels offers cheap, healthy meals for those unable to shop or cook for themselves.
Sydney services
One Meal offers food relief services like free community meals and pantry packs in 5 areas of Greater Sydney.
The Rev Bill Crews Foundation offers healthy, free meals prepared daily. They have free sit-down restaurants in Western Sydney and food van sites across Sydney suburbs.
Turbans 4 Australia has helped thousands of Australians in need. Every Sunday, they give out free food and grocery hampers to people who need help. This happens at their Clyde headquarters in Western Sydney.
City of Sydney food support directory
The City of Sydney has a list of food support services available in the inner city of Sydney.
OzHarvest Market is a charity with the motto ‘take what you need and give what you can.’ It gives free rescued fruit, vegetables, and pantry items to people in need at its Waterloo market in Sydney.
Refettorio OzHarvest offers a free lunch prepared by OzHarvest chefs in Surry Hills in the inner city of Sydney.
Save on your shop
Shop by unit price. The cheapest item on the shelf doesn’t always offer the best value for money. For a better buy, check the item’s unit price. This is a standard measure such as price per kilogram or price per litre.
Visit more than one store. CHOICE estimates you could save up to 40% by visiting more than one supermarket. Save time in the store by researching the specials before you go.
Save with imperfect fruit and vegetables. Big supermarkets sell fruit and vegetables under names like ‘Imperfect Picks’ or ‘The Odd Bunch’ at lower prices. Some online shops also sell ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables for less.
Buy in bulk from wholesalers. You can save if you go straight to the source. Try searching online to ‘join a food hub to cut grocery bills’ or ‘buy fresh, imperfect produce’. You can save up to one-third on fruit and vegetables compared to supermarket prices.
Buy meat in bulk. Meat is usually the most expensive item on the shopping list. Buy it in bulk from a local or online wholesale butcher to save money (search online for ‘wholesale meat NSW’). Then break it into meal-size portions and freeze for later use. If you don’t have the freezer space, consider going halves with a friend.
Buy low-processed food. You often pay extra for convenience. Pre-made products like salads or items with sauces usually cost more than individual ingredients.
Buy frozen and canned foods. Swap some fresh vegetables and fruit with canned and frozen varieties. This can be cheaper and better than buying fresh produce when it's out of season. Long-life food is often as healthy. It is picked fresh and canned or frozen straight away. This also helps reduce food waste.
Compare the prices at your local supermarkets. Do you know which supermarket near you offers the best value? CHOICE's quarterly survey compares prices at supermarkets across the country. The survey results show average prices. Costs may change based on where you live and when you shop.
Reduce how much pre-packaged food you eat. Some packaged food and drinks include GST, which means you can pay 10% more for these items. Learn more about GST-free food and find out which grocery items are taxable or GST-free.
It's not always practical to avoid packaged food. Choice Food and Drink can help you compare frozen meals and other pre-packaged food to get the best value.
Plan out your meals with a list and planner
Get better value for your money by planning your meals and writing a shopping list before you visit the supermarket.
Use a meal planner. Even if you plan meals for just a few days a week, you’ll see a real difference in your supermarket spend. Download a printable meal planner template from No Money No Time, or try using a recipe website like Foodwise which builds a meal plan and shopping list based on the recipes you select.
Work out how much food you really need. The Australian Government’s Eat for health website has example meal plans and nutrition calculators to help you eat the right amount of food from all 5 food groups.
Simple, healthy and cheap recipe ideas
Find simple, quick and nutritious recipes on these websites so you can stick to your food budget.
No fancy ingredients? No worries! You can find easy, low-cost recipes from the University of Newcastle.
Visit the NSW Government's Healthy Eating Active Living website for low-cost and healthy meal ideas.
The Australian Government’s Eat for Health website has healthy recipes with lots of vegetables. It also shows sample meal plans with all five food groups.
Nutrition Australia is a not-for-profit community organisation. It has simple, quick, and cheap recipes for the whole family.
Reduce food waste to save money
Use up the food you already have before buying more groceries. These websites offer practical tools and recipes to help you save cash and stop expensive food from going in the bin.
The NSW Government has a free online program to help you save money and reduce food waste. It also gives easy tips for using leftovers.
OzHarvest, an Australian food rescue group, has lots of tips to use your leftovers. Ideas include ‘Fridge Clean Out Nachos’ and ‘Floppy Broccoli Soup’.
Do you have leftover food in the fridge? Use the Food Wise recipe finder and meal planner to get through your groceries. You’ll find ideas for almost every item in the pantry.
Super Cook helps you use what you already have at home. It gives great recipes to avoid wasting food.
Crisis support
A crisis can be sudden and life changing, but you do not need to go through it alone. There are support services available if you need help when times get tough.
Learn more about where to get help at our Crisis support page.