Thousands of Australians, including children, are regularly going without food because they can't afford it, a new report has found.
Anglicare Australia estimates around 45,000 households using its emergency relief services don't have enough money to adequately feed their families.
Of those, adults in nearly 22,000 households did not eat for a whole day, most weeks.
One in 10 of those households also reported that children went without food for a whole day on a regular basis.
'Our research clearly indicates that parents try to protect their children by deliberately missing meals themselves and sometimes going without food for a whole day,' Anglicare's executive director Kasy Chambers said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ms Chambers said the findings were just the 'tip of the iceberg' when it came to the extent of food insecurity in Australia.
'Unexpected expenses such as a high power bill, rent increase or car repairs can make people food insecure because food is often the only discretionary item in their weekly budget,' she said.
But a recent report by FoodBank Australia puts the number of people going hungry much higher, estimating 680,000 people in NSW alone are struggling to put a meal on the table every year.
FoodBank NSW CEO Gerry Andersen said charitable agencies did not have enough food to supply the 'working poor' families who struggle to feed their children.
The Sydney Food Fairness Alliance (SFFA) and the Australian Health Promotion Association are holding a World Food Day forum at NSW Parliament House on Tuesday to discuss food insecurity.
