The Kimberley region is nearly 200,000 kilograms short of the food relief needed to support its communities, the head of Western Australia's peak hunger relief charity says.

Foodbank WA chief executive Kate O'Hara said recent data found there was only 7,500 kilograms of food relief coming into the Kimberley — a region that requires 206,000 kilograms of food each year. 

Two years ago, the organisation found that 1,000 people in the town of Kununurra lived with severe food stress, a number Ms O'Hara said would have only grown. 

The state government tabled the Hungry For Change Report in June last year, which found demand for food relief across WA had substantially increased over the past four years.

Twelve months on, Ms O'Hara said the stress on households in regions like the Kimberley had exacerbated other issues. 

"It is no wonder there is distress and social disturbance and problems," she said. 

Funding for hubs pushed back 

To combat this issue, the charity planned to establish food hubs in Kununurra and Newman to distribute food at a low cost for the community. 

But a funding application to build the hubs was recently rejected by the Department of Social Services.

Ms O'Hara said, based on its consultation with communities, residents were struggling with insufficient food supply. 

"I do not want to see another story of children breaking into homes just to find food, or people trialling and exploring with drugs to alleviate their hunger pains," she said. 

Without the million dollars needed per location, Ms O'Hara said Foodbank would not commit to the hub's infrastructure if it could not support communities long term. 

She said the charity would review its approach to establishing the hubs and consider what could be done differently. 

Local-led solutions aim to 'empower' 

Mandy Milburn is the treasurer of the Kununurra Community Garden Kitchen, which aims to improve food security and teach people how to grow their own food.  

Since 2016, the kitchen has supplied a total of 30,000 free meals on Sunday evenings with the help of donations and volunteers. 

Ms Milburn said listening to people's needs and understanding how they could live a healthier life was an important part in building food security. 

"A big factor in all of this is the education required that works with families and young people … how can we cook the food that's available to us, or what is nutrition?" she said. 

Ms Milburn said a stakeholder group led by the Wunan Foundation was an example of a locally led solution. 

Ms Milburn said it was important to focus on the strengths of the community and move away from reliance on emergency relief where possible. 

"I think it's up to everyone to just sit at the table together and think big picture," she said.

 "And be mindful that we don't want to feed this industry."