Regional homelessness crisis drives surge in food charities across Australia

Rosslynne Crawford sleeps under what she calls the peppercorn tree in Broken Hill, a far-west town in New South Wales where she has been waiting three years for public housing. The 38-year-old Barkindji woman is one of thousands of regional Australians caught in a homelessness crisis that has quietly deepened over the past few years, largely invisible to those living in the country's major cities.

Every night at Kintore Reserve, a local food charity called Feeding Friends sets up to serve anyone who needs a meal. Crawford is a regular. She appreciates the food—it saves her from having to cook and build a fire—but what she values most is the human contact. "It keeps my mind entertained and occupied, really, away from those distractions, what I had in my past," she said. The charity has grown steadily, sustained by weekly donations from local businesses and the work of volunteers who understand that a warm meal is sometimes the only stable thing in someone's day.

The numbers tell a stark story. St Vincent de Paul Society in Broken Hill has fielded a 48 percent jump in requests for assistance since 2022-23. More than one in four people seeking help are experiencing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation. More than two in five are facing housing stress. But Broken Hill is not an outlier. New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals that regional Australians are experiencing homelessness at more than three times the rate of those in major cities. Don Barron, head of Feeding Friends, has watched the crisis shift in character. "The need has certainly grown in the way of young families," he said. "We have homeless people in Broken Hill who do have children; they still go to school, but they're living in cars."

Dave Meadows is not a professional chef. For three years he has been running a barbecue event in Adelaide, serving slow-cooked meat to people experiencing homelessness. Each year, more people showed up. "Our numbers in Adelaide are just going up and up," he said. "They can't afford to rent anywhere, and they're sleeping rough." Meadows began to wonder if what he was witnessing in Adelaide was happening everywhere. He decided to find out.

With his family—his wife and two daughters, Charlotte and Sofia, ages nine and five—Meadows packed a trailer with smokers and barbecues and set out to deliver warm meals across four states. The Smoke and Soul project, as they called it, partnered with local charities in 18 locations across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Meadows believed that people experiencing homelessness deserved more than the simple fare most charities could afford to provide. "Usually, people who are doing it hard only often receive pretty simple food like soup and sandwiches," he said. "That's largely due to the charities being quite underfunded. But it's my aim to give people who are sleeping rough a food experience."

The family raised funds and hit the road. Meadows wanted his daughters to understand the importance of helping others. "Especially my eldest, she's really flourished over this whole time, her confidence has gone up, and she gets really excited about helping others," he said. The couple also hoped the project would inspire others in their communities to volunteer. "These charities that we are partnered with are always looking for help," Meadows said.

After 59 days on the road, the family returned to Adelaide in mid-August. They had served approximately 1,350 meals. The fundraiser had raised $10,552 more than they spent, and they donated the surplus back to the charities they had worked with along the way. "What we're doing is sharing hope and happiness and showing people who are doing it tough out there that there are other people out there who care," Meadows said. The initiative is a reminder that in regions where government support and charity resources are stretched thin, ordinary people are stepping in to fill the gap—one meal, one conversation, one act of dignity at a time.