New partnership project will explore food access for asylum seekers in London
Sustain partner with JRS and Life Seekers aid to launch a new project exploring experiences of food access for asylum seekers in London. Findings and recommendations will seek to address issues and highlight existing good practice.
Asylum seekers in London face multiple barriers to accessing the food they need to meet their nutritional and cultural requirements, including lack of money for food and limited access to kitchen facilities. Where food is provided, this can be inadequate and inappropriate. This results in concerns around nutrition and health for this population, alongside a lack of dignity, enjoyment and ability to connect to cultural aspects of food.
Local authorities have scope to support and improve food access among this population, however, there is currently limited evidence in this area, and a lack of opportunities for people with lived experience of the asylum-seeking system to have their voices heard, amplified, and advocated for when planning policy and services.
Sustain are excited to partner with Jesuit Refugee Service UK and Life Seekers Aid to deliver on a new project that will put lived experience at the heart of developing recommendations for change and are grateful to Trust for London for their support to this work. Both partners are experienced frontline services supporting asylum seekers across the capital, and will host focus groups and interviews to understand experiences of food access for people from diverse backgrounds seeking asylum in London. The project will be lead by people who themselves have experience of seeking asylum in the UK.
The project aims to draw attention to issues with food access for asylum seekers in London, and produce guidance and recommendations for local authorities, food partnerships and other organisations based on the lived experience of this population. While the report produced will be London-focused, the recommendations and good practice shared will also be relevant to other local authorities working to improve food access for asylum seekers across the country.
Do you know of a great food project supporting asylum seekers that would make a good case study? Get in touch with Isabel, our Food Poverty Campaign Coordinator.
Published Friday 10 November 2023
Food Poverty: Millions of people in the UK struggle to get enough to eat. We’re working to change that through people-powered projects and campaigns that tackle the root causes of food poverty and ensure everyone has dignified access to healthy, affordable food.
