Feeding Australian children has become even harder as grocery prices rise and the cost of living bites.
Customers have pointed the finger at the major supermarkets, accusing them of profiting while Australians struggle to pay for basic necessities.
Mother of three Julie Amato-Gauci has had to cut back on some of her family’s favourite foods as formerly cheap products like osso buco, lamb and other produce soar in price.
“A tomato shouldn’t be a luxury item, but it kind of feels like it is,” she told AAP.
“(Supermarkets) almost have a responsibility to the public – I’m not expecting them to sell premium cuts for a low price – but they need to leave some things for families to access day-to-day.
“But their specials are always on junk food.”
Her kids love berries, some of which can cost $7 for a 125g punnet, so to ensure a steady supply, she saves them for her children while leaving the “more boring” fruits for herself.
Ms Amato-Gauci has also taken to bulk-buying, but she cannot do it consistently as it is a big hit to her budget in one go.
The consequences of the cost-of-living crisis are also trickling into the classroom, according to primary school teacher Julie Wright.
“I’m seeing more and more children turning up without food or with not-healthy food,” she told AAP.
“I’m quite upset because it affects their learning.”
Ms Wright tries to bring bananas and apples for her students, even though she has had to cut back on her own spending.
The federal government has begun cracking down on the supermarkets in a bid to alleviate cost pressures, with a specific focus on “shrinkflation” – where the size of a produce is reduced but its cost stays the same.
On Thursday, politicians revealed they would implement a stronger unit pricing code, which will allow customers to compare the cost of goods by weight or volume.
Supermarkets that breach the enhanced code will be slapped with large penalties.
While consumer group Choice has welcomed the shrinkflation action, deputy campaign director Andy Kelly said supermarkets could go further.
“To make shrinkflation more transparent we really need labels on shelves alerting customers to when a product has shrunk, but the price has remained the same or increased,” he said.
An investigation by the consumer advocacy group in March identified 10 products affected by shrinkflation, including store-brand cereals at Coles and Woolworths that had been cut down in weight to 490 grams, from 560 grams, but still cost the same.
The Labor government will consult on the code, on areas including improving readability and visibility of unit pricing in stores and addressing inconsistent use of units of measure across supermarkets.
Coles has said it is committed to keeping prices low at its stores, while Woolworths has previously said packet and serving sizes were up to the individual manufacturer.
The big two chains make up almost 70 per cent of supermarket retail sales nationwide.
“The duopoly definitely needs to break … it doesn’t feel like there’s much competition,” Ms Amato-Gauci said.
“The government needs to step in because a fine is not going to be anything to these people.”
The Albanese government has given the consumer watchdog $30 million to investigate supermarket malpractice.
Labor is also eyeing changes to development laws to stop the practice of land banking – the purchase and holding of sites to shut out potential competitors – by the big supermarket operators.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced in September it was taking legal action against Coles and Woolworths for allegedly misleading customers through discount pricing claims.
A mandatory food and grocery code has been released by the government for consultation, proposing multimillion-dollar penalties for retailers over serious breaches.
But the federal government has ruled out divestiture measures, warning they could impact jobs and supermarket accessibility in regional areas.
