A report published yesterday details findings that food provided to asylum seekers by contractors for the Home Office is failing to meet basic needs, leading to food insecurity, poor physical and mental health, and malnutrition.

The findings detailed in the report relate to research undertaken between October 2023 and February 2024, which held focus groups with people who have lived experience of the asylum system in London. Participants in the research reported their experience with food provision in the asylum system as ‘degrading and dehumanising’, which was having a significant impact on mental health.

As reported in the Guardian, there were particular concerns raised around malnutrition for children who were reportedly going to bed ‘crying with hunger’.  Other concerns related to poor food safety making people unwell, along with a lack of provision for people with medical conditions and allergies, which had led to hospitalisation. The report also noted that asylum seekers faced several difficulties in securing adequate food provision, which included a lack of money, little to no kitchen access, and inadequate food provision. All these factors were reported as contributing to the food insecurity of asylum seekers.

The director of Jesuit Refugee Service UK, Sarah Teather, said in response: ‘This report lays bare the horrifying impact of food insecurity for people in the asylum system: children going to bed crying in hunger, people becoming ill because of the only food they can eat, a daily struggle to make ends meet. These are ultimately the result of a deliberate policy to force people seeking asylum to live in poverty. This should not be normal. As this report reveals these realities, it also shows that it doesn’t have to be this way. We can, and must, change this.’

The report also makes several recommendations going forward. It sets out proposals for local authorities to work collaboratively with local actors to tackle issues around food that people seeking asylum are facing. Sustain’s London Food Poverty Campaign Coordinator, Isabel Rice, said that the shocking findings of this report are a clear call to action. She noted ‘People seeking sanctuary in this country should have their nutritional needs met, and agency over the food they eat. This report reveals that this is not happening, with catastrophic impacts on people’s physical and mental health.’

This report adds further to criticism of the Home Office for its treatment of individuals seeking asylum. As was reported in the Justice Gap yesterday, the Home Office has already faced criticism this week for  failing to inform the families of asylum seekers who have died in their care, along with accusations from former borders inspector, David Neal, that it is ‘dysfunctional’ and in ‘need of reform’.

Both the Home Office and its contractor Clearsprings, which manages asylum accommodation, declined to participate in the research carried out by Sustain. In response, a Home Office spokesperson said that the food provided in asylum hotels meets all the NHS Eatwell standards as well as responding to all cultural and dietary requirements. It is said that a 24/7 helpline is accessible by asylum seekers if they have any concerns and if they want to make formal complaints.