Food as a discretionary item: the impact of welfare payment changes on low-income single mother’s food choices and strategies

Abstract

Recent changes to Australia's welfare system have affected low-income single parent families, with many moved on to an employment seeker's payment (a reduced payment) when the policy change made them ineligible for a family payment. To explore the impacts of this policy change, in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 low-income single mothers across Australia. This paper focuses on the health and wellbeing impacts of the decreased payment on food choices and behaviours. This study suggests that food had become an expense that could be tightly managed, limited, or foregone for these families.