It’s Anti-Poverty Week and NCOSS is adding its voice to those who are calling for change.

Last year Foodbank delivered 29,434 kilograms of food to Dubbo – the equivalent of 53,516 meals.

However the demand is not being met. An extra 102,384 meals are needed to meet the increasing demand in the city.

Of the meals provided by Foodbank every month, 27 per cent are for children under the age of 18.

There needed to be more investment from the NSW government into early childhood education, childhood obesity prevention and child-centered domestic violence services, NCOSS CEO Tracy McLeod Howe said.

“We heard loud and clear that the top priority area for action was ensuring children and young people the best start in life,” she said.

“It’s a sobering reality that here in NSW one in seven children are living below the poverty line, and that all too often this shapes their entire life course.”

NCOSS visited 570 communities across the state and spoke to 440 people living below the poverty line.

“We’ve heard about solutions that are working in communities and where our government needs to invest now to break the poverty cycle for the 181,400 children living in poverty across the State,” Ms McLeod Howe said.

Other key ares for investment, according to NCOSS, are: energy affordability, housing for the most vulnerable, a fair justice system for Aboriginal communities, mental health supports, financially empowering women and disability advocacy.

Data gathered by Foodbank found 56 per cent of those who had food insecurity were suffering from “bill shock”. The rising prices of basic necessities, such as electricity, where forcing people to choose between paying bills or buying food, Foodbank NSW and ACT executive general manager John Robertson said.

“Fifteen per cent of the population have been unsure about where their next meal is coming from – that’s a very worrying figure.”

“We say we’re living in the lucky country but when you see 3.6 million Australians have experienced food insecurity it really pulls the curtains back.”

There were three core reasons for the food insecurity issues, Mr Robertson said: rising energy prices, a lack of affordable housing and underemployment.

St Vincent de Paul are using Anti-Poverty Week to encourage the NSW to develop a emergency relief fund for asylum seekers, similar to the $600,000 package announced by the Victorian Government.