THE number of local families struggling to make ends meet this Christmas has increased as cost of living pressures start to bite, with a Salvation Army report released yesterday confirming the festive season will be anything but joyous for some.

Hamilton’s Salvation Army community development worker, Mark Thomas, said that while the community was extremely generous in offering donations for families and individuals in need, calls for assistance this year had increased the challenge to meet supply.

“The community donations have been great, it’s just the demand is growing,” he said.

Mr Thomas said the need for food hampers had risen significantly and the number of people attending their normal weekly community lunch had also spiked.

“It’s now gone to just over a hundred,” he said.

Mr Thomas said there was also a greater need for volunteers to assist.

The national Salvation Army report found 3 in 10 Australians would struggle to pay for utilities this Christmas and that figure rose to 55 per cent amongst those who access their services.

Almost all Salvation Army clients surveyed were worried about how they would afford Christmas this year, with 6 in 10 saying they would struggle to buy presents for their children.

A Spectator social media survey posted on Friday revealed the extent of the crunch, including one resident who stated, “Aint gonna be no joy in our household this Christmas with the water bill rates mortgage and power bills needing to be paid. Ho bloody Ho.”

Another commented, “My presence is going to have to be the present this year.”

Another said, “It’s cruel when you have to decide between food and paying bills. It’s 2022 and it’s getting worse. I feel sorry for families with small children and the elderly.”

One comment read, “The kids are receiving less than usual, not in the way of gifts but in the sense of outings/holiday activities as we just don’t have any spare money left over.”

91 per cent of respondents to the poll said they had been affected by the rising cost of living and 75 per cent said that it was affecting purchases made this holiday season.

It’s been a challenging year for many coping with record-high inflation, an unprecedented run of interest rate rises and devastating flooding.

Uniting Church Hamilton food distribution coordinator, Carolyn Coate, said inflation and ongoing interest rate hikes was likely contributing to the increase in financial stress on local families.

“Demand for one-off emergency assistance has increased … as has demand for families or individuals to be put on the permanent list for assistance,” she said.

Separate to their regular food distribution program, the Uniting Church of Hamilton’s annual Christmas Hamper Appeal is presently underway for those in the community who are especially in need at this time of year.

Ms Coate said masses of donations of non-perishable items have been coming in from the community and that she had been blown away by the generosity of the local community.

“The Christmas hampers are being made up at present and will be going out to members of the community,” she said.

Adding to the crunch, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board raised the official cash rate for the eighth straight month on Tuesday, this time by 25 basis points to 3.10 per cent, the rationale being that inflation was still too high.

The RBA attributed the need for another rise to ongoing global economic stressors causing higher inflation, and that to level inflation, a sustainable balance between demand and supply was required.

However, stocking the fridge, buying gifts for loved ones or filling the car for road trips over the Christmas period is going to get harder for many as the Board is expected to increase interest rates again over the period ahead.

RBA governor, Philip Lowe, said although the Board was anticipating another rate rise next month, they were certainly “not on a pre-set course”.

Inflation is predicted to peak at around eight per cent over the year to the December quarter before declining next year due to the anticipated resolution of global supply-side concerns.