Children arriving hungry in the first year of school: population trends in Australia from 2009 to 2021
Adam Gavin A , Mary Brushe A B Alanna Sincovich A B *A
B
Keywords: AEDC, Australia, breakfast skipping, child hunger, food insecurity, school breakfast programs, school children, school meals.
Access to adequate nutrition is a human right. In 2023, 23% of Australian households were severely food insecure, reducing food intake, skipping meals or days of eating.1 Food insecurity in early childhood is linked to poor health and development.2 Specifically, breakfast provides children with the necessary nutrients required for sustained attention, memory, and cognitive growth. Australian research has reported that one in three children aged 8–18 years regularly skip breakfast.3 However, there is little understanding of the prevalence of food insecurity among young children in Australia.
This study investigates trends in the prevalence of children who arrived at school hungry in their first year of full-time school in Australia from 2009 to 2021, using a national census of child development. Findings highlight experiences of food insecurity among young children in Australia to inform the supports required.
Methods
Data source
The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), conducted triennially (term 2), is a teacher-reported survey measuring child development in the first year of full-time school. Five AEDC cycles have been conducted from 2009 to 2021, with participation ranging from 97.5% in 2009 to 95.5% in 2021.4
Participants
The analysis sample included children from all AEDC cycles (N = 1,456,950) after exclusion of those with a missing (n = 6533, 0.4%) or ‘Don’t know’ response (n = 3608, 0.2%) to the child hunger item. In 2021, the mean age of children was 5.1 years.
Measures
Teachers respond to the item: ‘Since the start of the year has the child sometimes (more than once) arrived hungry?’ with options ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Don’t know’.
Based on the Statistical Area Level 1 index of where each child resides, the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage was used to determine community socioeconomic position, with quintiles ranging from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 5 (least disadvantaged).5
Results
There were increasing trends in the prevalence of children coming to school hungry from 2009 to 2021 in all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory, with the greatest shift in Tasmania (Table 1). Prevalence increased across all socioeconomic quintiles, with the largest increase in the most disadvantaged areas (5.5% in 2009 to 7.3% in 2021). Differences between the least and most disadvantaged areas have grown over time (e.g. 4.0% difference between quintile 1 and 5 in 2009 and 5.8% in 2021).
| 2009 (n = 258,407) | 2012 (n = 287,536) | 2015 (n = 300,229) | 2018 (n = 307,323) | 2021 (n = 303,455) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 7820, 3.0 | 8987, 3.1 | 8816, 2.9 | 9483, 3.1 | 10,302, 3.4 | |
| Jurisdiction | ||||||
| NSW | 2255, 2.6 | 2697, 2.9 | 2337, 2.4 | 2443, 2.5 | 2711, 2.8 | |
| WA | 846, 3.1 | 1042, 3.3 | 982, 2.9 | 958, 2.8 | 1137, 3.2 | |
| SA | 545, 3.4 | 603, 3.2 | 600, 3.1 | 735, 3.6 | 851, 4.2 | |
| Vic | 1797, 3.0 | 2032, 3.0 | 2053, 2.9 | 2325, 3.1 | 2370, 3.2 | |
| Qld | 1722, 3.1 | 1910, 3.1 | 2092, 3.2 | 2231, 3.5 | 2379, 3.7 | |
| Tas | 173, 2.9 | 247, 3.9 | 266, 4. 2 | 279, 4.6 | 294, 5.0 | |
| ACT | 111, 2.5 | 95, 2.0 | 120, 2.2 | 160, 2.8 | 216, 3.7 | |
| NT | 371, 12.4 | 361, 11.0 | 366, 10.7 | 352, 10.5 | 344, 10.8 | |
| Socioeconomic position | ||||||
| Q1 | 3161, 5.5 | 3910, 6.3 | 3809, 6.1 | 4086, 6.7 | 4154, 7.3 | |
| Q2 | 1640, 3.3 | 1865, 3.3 | 1852, 3.2 | 1977, 3.4 | 2229, 3.8 | |
| Q3 | 1266, 2.5 | 1397, 2.5 | 1354, 2.3 | 1506, 2.4 | 1614, 2.6 | |
| Q4 | 948, 2.0 | 981, 1.8 | 1020, 1.7 | 1120, 1.8 | 1329, 2.0 | |
| Q5 | 756, 1.5 | 777, 1.3 | 739, 1.2 | 752, 1.2 | 915, 1.5 | |
Note: quintile; Q. Q1, most disadvantaged, Q5, least disadvantaged. NSW, New South Wales; WA, Western Australia; SA, South Australia; Vic, Victoria; Qld, Queensland; Tas, Tasmania; ACT, Australian Capital Territory; NT, Northern Territory. Percentages for Jurisdiction and Socioeconomic position are calculated by dividing the number of children arriving at school hungry within that demographic by the total population of children in that demographic (e.g. WA = 846/total children arriving at school in WA × 100). Total populations in each demographic are not presented here but are available as Supplementary Table S1.
Discussion
Results highlight an increased percentage of Australia’s youngest children coming to school hungry over time, with growing inequality between the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Findings align with evidence that food insecurity is growing in Australia, largely attributed to cost-of-living increases.1 We anticipate the percentage of children arriving at school hungry will continue to increase, with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
A strength of this research is our use of population census data. Although percentage shifts appear small, findings highlight an additional 2482 children arriving hungry to school since 2009. Nonetheless, this study is limited by reliance on teacher-reported data, as well as a lack of information on how frequently children come to school hungry and why, which are important avenues for future research.
School food provision in Australia lacks governance and coherence, with multiple services and programs, including packed lunches, school canteens, school breakfast clubs, and charitable breakfast and lunch programs.6 School breakfast programs, delivered in some schools across Australia, present an opportunity to promote access to breakfast while reducing cost-of-living pressures for families. Although programs largely serve socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, little is known about coverage and access. Results show some children could benefit from a free breakfast who are not receiving it, and policymakers should explore how programs can better support children experiencing food insecurity.
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are held by a third party and were used under licence and are not publicly available. Data access is restricted to researchers who have obtained approval from the data custodian. Requests to access the dataset should be directed to the data custodian, the Social Research Centre, the Data Management Agency of the Australian Early Development Consensus, via email (support@aedc.gov.au).
Author contributions
AG: conceptualisation, methodology, formal analysis, writing – original draft. MB: conceptualisation, methodology, writing – review and editing. AS: conceptualisation, methodology, writing – review and editing.
References
1 Foodbank Australia. Foodbank Hunger Report 2023. 2023. Available at https://reports.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-hunger-report-2023/ [cited 8 April 2025].
2 Simonovich SD, Pineros-Leano M, Ali A, Awosika O, Herman A, Withington MHC, et al. A systematic review examining the relationship between food insecurity and early childhood physiological health outcomes. Transl Behav Med 2020; 10(5): 1086-97.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
3 Sincovich A, Moller H, Smithers L, Brushe M, Lassi ZS, Brinkman SA, Gregory T. Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study. BMC Pediatr 2022; 22(1): 220.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
4 Department for Education. Australian Early Development Census National Report 2021. Report No.: 2206-2831. Canberra, Australia: AEDC; 2022. Available at https://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/detail/2021-aedc-national-report [cited 8 April 2025].
6 Manson AC, Johnson BJ, Smith K, Dunbabin J, Leahy D, Graham A, Gallegos A, Golley RK. Do we need school meals in Australia? A discussion paper. Flinders University; 2022. 10.25957/rqer-r406
