Nourishment in a New Home: Food Security Issues Among Recently Arrived Refugees in Australia

Julie Maree Wood, Nourishment in a New Home: Food Security Issues Among Recently Arrived Refugees in Australia

Winner – Deakin University VYT local competition (2024)

Food is about more than just nutrition. It's about culture, memories, nourishment and home food insecurities when there's limited availability, access or ways to utilise food. People living as refugees are highly susceptible.

The new food environment is unfamiliar. Food types. Packaging shops. Language. Many factors impede refugees connection to food. So I scoped existing research to build a model to capture the issues impeding connection with food. I also analysed a database to find which refugee populations are most food insecure. I found that quality settlement information can help refugees connect with what they need. Then I gathered and analysed the quality of all food security information resources nationally.

Now I'm speaking with refugee settlement workers to gather their knowledge of how these resources can be more effective. Using all this evidence, I'll build guidelines to help the resources better connect refugee populations with the food they need, enabling them to move themselves one step closer to finding nourishment in their new home.