Like many employees around the nation, casual worker Ira is finding it harder to put food on the table.

"The cost of living is just not affecting people that are unemployed or people that are homeless," she said.

"It's affecting people that work, and I work and it's not enough.

"It's just not enough anymore."

Ira — who asked for her surname not to be used — said food insecurity was a "huge issue".

Ira has not been the only one struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

National food relief organisation OzHarvest's latest survey of 1,500 charities showed 67 per cent of respondents could not meet current demand for services.

Charities also reported that 30 per cent of their clients were seeking help for the first time.

The Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock yesterday acknowledged that more people than usual were seeking help from community organisations as Australia's economy slows down.

Her comments came a day after Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures showed Australia's economy is growing at the slowest pace since 1991, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, as households cut back on spending.

The ABS also said spending on food fell 1 per cent in the June quarter as households substituted affordable options to reduce grocery expenses.

'Sign of the times'

In a bid to put food on the table, Ira turned to Adelaide's first free supermarket — joining hundreds who have come through the doors since it opened a few weeks ago.

OzHarvest runs the supermarket, and its SA manager Rachel Hibble said the service had seen double the expected numbers.

Ms Hibble said a "big portion of society that were maybe doing OK is now struggling to get the bare basics".

"It's a real sign of the times of food insecurity reaching every corner of the community — young tradesmen we see rolling up, people in suits that have come from full-time jobs, single parents that are trying to make ends meet, families with kids, you name it," she said.

OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn said she had not seen this level of demand in the charity's history.

"If you have to choose between paying rent, health, fuel, IT, education — food is the easiest thing to drop first, and that's what we're hearing and that's what we're seeing at our free supermarkets around the country," she said.

'Worse before they get better'

University of South Australia economics chair Susan Stone said the tax cuts unveiled in this year's federal budget would mean the situation for households "might start to improve" — but potentially not before a further "dip".

"There is a big lag between when we see numbers, when the numbers are reported, and when people start to feel some relief," Dr Stone said.

"We may see the numbers that come out in September to be … maybe even more of a dip, before we see things start to progress and improve later in the year, or into 2025."

Dr Stone said there was anecdotal evidence that the federal tax cuts had boosted household savings, rather than spending, which she said was a "good thing" and would give consumers "that buffer that they need".

"We need prices to stabilise so that businesses can make long-term plans [and] consumers can spend with confidence that they're not going to get into any kind of financial difficulty by making purchases," she said.

Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher acknowledged that household budgets had been "smashed" by repeated interest rate rises, and were under "huge pressure".

"There's no doubt there's been pain felt, and that pain has been felt in household budgets," she told RN Breakfast on Thursday.

But she said the government was committed to delivering "targeted" household support without exacerbating inflation.

OzHarvest said that, regardless of the big picture, charities would continue working around the clock at grassroots level.

"There's strength in the community coming together to support one another, and at this time they are looking outwards for extended support to help make it through," Ms Hibble said.