Commissioned by the New Zealand Food Network (NZFN) – the country’s largest food support charity and national food rescue organisation – the Hunger Monitor fills a critical evidence gap. Since 2020, NZFN has moved large-scale surplus and donated food from producers, growers and manufacturers through distribution centres in Auckland and Christchurch to more than 60 regional food hubs (including food rescues, iwi organisations, food banks and community charities), supporting over 2,000 frontline groups nationwide. Rising demand and persistent pressure on community services prompted NZFN to establish a nationally consistent baseline using the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module.

The study’s purpose is practical: to quantify prevalence and severity, understand lived experience and risk factors, and guide operations, collaboration and policy input across the sector. NZFN underscores the urgency of a coordinated, dignified response – highlighting stigma, uncertainty and low awareness as barriers – and will use the Monitor as a practical tool for action and to track change over time. The study used the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module with a nationally representative online sample of 3,000 adults fielded 24 Nov–9 Dec 2025 (margin of error ±1.8%).

What we mean by food insecurity: it is measured at the household level and focuses on the economic and social conditions that constrain, disrupt or create uncertainty around reliable access to adequate food. In this report, households are classified as food insecure if they have had to compromise the quality, variety or desirability of their food (moderately food insecure) or have had reduced or disrupted food intake (severely food insecure).

The findings are stark. Overall, 33% of households were food insecure in the past year (15% moderate, 18% severe). For many, this is new and frequent: 68% first struggled to afford enough food within the last 12 months; 57% experienced it as recently as the last month; and half face it multiple times per month.

The burden is uneven. Although food insecurity is experienced across all regions of the country, it is highest among single-parent families (70%; 48% severe), renters (53%; 32% severe), and low-income households (49%; 31% severe). Disproportionately high rates are also seen among Pacific peoples (64%), Māori (51%), and 18–24-year-olds (50%).

Cost pressures dominate as the driver. 83% of food-insecure households cite increased living expenses, and 45% cite reduced or unstable income. Coping behaviours reflect that squeeze: 67% look for grocery discounts, and food-insecure households are far more likely to cut back on fresh produce (46%), protein (44%), and dairy (45%).

Access to food relief is patchy. Only 54% of New Zealanders know where to go for food relief. Among food-insecure households, 44% have ever accessed formal support and 23% did so in the last year, with embarrassment (49%) and uncertainty about eligibility (35%) being common barriers.

Read the full report here: https://info.ipsos.com/Mjk3LUNYSi03OTUAAAGhLB9-Wgbe9qMcL62_mgYpuyWhQy4g_UFBG9aUC8zLakY2zqE79wvhZj4gNIGbZLkpa64JaPA=

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