Forced migrants in the UK often struggle to feed themselves and end up relying on charities or working illegally. Not enough is known about their experiences and we worked with Nifty Fox to create an infographic about migrant food poverty, drawing together insights from published and ongoing research as well as media and grey literature reports.
Background
Migration from low-income to high-income countries can be motivated by a lack of local, decently paid employment opportunities, political instability, and the demand for cheap labour. However, migration is not always a choice. Due to a combination of wars, political unrest, geopolitical crises, and climate change-related natural disasters, there are now more forced migrants than ever before. Forced migrants in the UK, especially those with ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF), often struggle to feed themselves and end up relying on charities or working illegally. Not enough is known about their experiences or the support they need.
Project Aims
This project aimed to create an accessible resource that communicates the sometimes complex challenges migrants face around food and the food system.
Project Activity
We wrote a review of the drivers of food poverty for forced migrants in the UK, looking at cross-cutting challenges as well as those specific to rural and urban contexts.
Alongside this, we worked with Nifty Fox to create an infographic about migrant food poverty, drawing together insights from published and ongoing research as well as media and grey literature reports. The infographic will be an accessible way of sharing research findings and campaigning priorities with advocacy groups, policymakers, and charities, and can be shared with the public on social media.
The project has finished. We are continuing our work around asylum seekers in our collaboration with Herts County Council.
Outputs
- Infographic
- A resource that can convey the complexities of migrant food poverty and the structural barriers migrant face in an engaging and interactive way.
- In addition to the infographic on the project page, we have written an accompanying review paper which we have submitted to the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
Next steps
Happily, an academic from Southampton saw the infographic and got in touch. We are now applying to the ESRC Connect funding call (June 2026 deadline) to do a six month project on food insecurity in asylum accommodation.
Who was involved?
- Claire Thompson (PI), University of Hertfordshire
- Lauran Hamilton, University of Hertfordshire
- Angela Dickinson, University of Hertfordshire
- Rebecca O'Connell, University of Hertfordshire
- Jess Brock, City St George's, University of London
- Jessica Renzella, University of Oxford
