With this current news on the work of sociologist Estelle Fourat, the Foundation is launching a weekly series to highlight the Papiers de la Fondation, articles written by the researchers it supports, at the end of their year of research. The Papiers de la Fondation, scientific articles of around twenty pages, present the results of their work in the form of working papers. They are written according to academic criteria for both specialised and non-specialised audiences, in order to make the knowledge thus created accessible to all interested people and to allow for a broad debate.
Les Papiers de la Fondation: disseminating research and fostering debate
« The dimensions of food reception: how to better feed migrants »
Estelle FOURAT, PhD in Sociology, EHESS-IRIS
Summary
Food is at the heart of health and welcoming issues for migrants. Their diet is characterized by low food consumption, difficulties in accessing assistance devices. There are also perverse effects of food aid which generates insecurity, stigma, loss of confidence, and social isolation. Today, there is a discrepancy between the food aid provided according to objectives defined by the National Food Council – which are to promote the self-sufficiency and social integration of individuals using food aid – and the needs of populations of various cultural and social origins in a situation of food dependence.
On the basis of the results of a research conducted in Paris with migrants, this article sets out the dimensions of what a food reception would be so that food aid can be adapted to needs and is part of a real reception of migrant populations. The food aid distributed must take into account not only the nutritional, but also the socio-cultural and material dimensions of food so that it is adapted to the specific needs of these populations.
Key words: food dependence, food aid, migrant populations, food reception
Photo Credit: © IFRC
