The map, released today by advocacy group GetUp!, illustrates the impact of rising living costs, drawing from survey results of nearly 4,000 Aussies across all states and territories.

“The map shows no matter where people live, no matter what people’s ages are, people are having to make real choices and are feeling a real pain with what’s happening in the grocery stores and through their rent,” GetUp!’s Chief Campaigns Officer, Amy Gordon, told news.com.au.

“(It shows) political inaction on these things is causing real pain.”

The map consists of coloured pins, each representing an Aussie and their biggest concern, from rent (orange), food (blue) mortgage (navy), electricity (yellow) and other costs (purple).

In a telling snapshot of the current state of the country, the survey found 89 per cent of Aussies are concerned about the rising cost of living, with food, energy, health and rent the highest overall concerns.

Rent and mortgage were the most frequently cited top concerns.

It comes as Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on Wednesday revealed the annual rate of inflation has risen to 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to April.

The top contributors to the increase were housing (4.9 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.8 per cent), alcohol and tobacco (6.5 per cent), and transport (4.2 per cent).

The rising cost of food

The cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages was one of the top two concerns in all states and territories except for the Northern Territory.

In the Top End, residents were most concerned with health services and energy prices.

Ms Gordon said the survey found many Aussies were having to make more considered choices about what they put in their shopping trolleys.

“There were young families having to decide whether they buy fruit and vegetables or whether they go and buy either Hungry Jack’s or McDonald’s because it is just so much cheaper.”

Others revealed they have had to decided between giving up basic essentials.

“One woman said she actually had to choose between the medicine that she bought for herself for the week, and whether she got groceries that week.

“These choices are not small choices, they’re life or death choices, and this is what people across the community are having to make.”

“This is going to have real ramifications on who we are as a society and the healthcare system that we’re going to need.”

‘Dumpster diving’

As the price for food other expenses continue to rise, one mother from rural Tasmania shared she has taken to ‘dumpster diving’ to get her hands on extra food.

Mother-of-two Mandy said she had been raiding bins outside major supermarkets once a week for the last year.

“I was gobsmacked at how much is thrown out by each supermarket per day,” the 49-year-old told news.com.au.

“There’s kilos of meat, whole roast whole chickens, you name it. Eggs, cartons of milk, five litre bags of brown rice.”

She said some of the items she’s found in the bins are close to their expiry date. Others are well within but may have had their packaging damaged.

“The other day there were loads of tomato pasta sauce. A few of the jars had broken so the whole box was thrown out. So I took the whole tray home and washed the glass off, and got six good jars out of it.”

Other finds include lollies, a bag of chicken wings and gourmet cheese.

“It’s this resource that is untapped. It’s such a shame all of that is going to landfill. And when people are struggling to buy (groceries), I could be eating premium meat for free.”

“My daughter’s gotten into it as well. At first, she said ‘oh my god I can’t believe we’re eating from a dumpster’. But we’re bringing weird and wonderful things home.”

Mandy said she hasn’t fallen ill from the food she’s salvaged and often shares the meats with her dog.

However, she admitted rummaging through the bins is no easy task.

“You have to be pretty bolshie. You’re jumping over walls and going right up to where their back doors are.”

“Sometimes the employees will chase you,” she added.

“Gutted” by the amount of food thrown away, Mandy is calling on major supermarkets – who are known to provide unsold, edible food to charity – to create alternative solutions for their unwanted products.

“The meat even could go to the dogs homes or the food could go to homeless shelters.”

“There needs to be another way of stopping all of that being thrown out.”

‘Political inaction’

Ms Gordon said she hopes the cost of living map will help put pressure on politicians to “make the right decisions when it comes to public money and where that public money is spent” ahead of next year’s federal election.

“What this map is trying to do is to show our political leaders across the spectrum that your people in your own community, people who you’re elected to represent, are really feeling the pain and they’re calling for to change.”

“They want action on rent, they want action on food and they want action on energy.”

Ms Gordon said she wants to see governments create “real reforms” including introducing a rent freeze as well as measures to address rising grocery prices.

“Everyone deserves to be able to afford fresh foods and rent and have a safe place to live,” she said.

“Governments have a really important decision to make over the next year.”

Aussies are able to document their cost of living struggles via the map, released to the public on Wednesday. There is also an option to share the map with local MP’s or senators.