Dr Hanna Baumann awarded Public Policy Support Fund to create communal food space for asylum seekers

Food poverty has increased significantly across the UK, with 18% of households overall deemed food insecure. Among asylum seekers, more than two thirds do not have reliable access to food, and children in asylum accommodation increasingly suffer from malnutrition. Lacking access to spaces for cooking and eating further exacerbates (mental) health and social cohesion issues. Local authorities often act as the last resort for destitute residents, especially those without recourse to public funds, but currently struggle to support the growing numbers in food poverty. Many councils are searching for innovative ways to reshape the food system at the local scale, especially through community participation.

Working with Camden Council, this project, led by Dr Hanna Baumann at the IGP, will enable the collaborative design and build of a communal food space where asylum seekers and long-term Camden residents can gather, cook and eat together.

Building on work by the leading food charity Sustain on lacking food provision in asylum hostels, the project pilots a key recommendation from a recent report outlining innovative actions local authorities can take to tackle this crisis – communal kitchens. The collaboration will allow Bartlett research to influence policy on how to redesign food systems at the urban scale for increased equity, inclusion and sustainability.

The space, co-designed with asylum seekers and overseen by Architect Madeleine Kessler, Co-curator of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021, will be inaugurated in a highly visible public event including a free-of-charge community meal. After the launch, the food space will be handed over the Camden for long-term operation. The findings will then be disseminated widely to local authorities, so that newly-developed approaches can be replicated and scaled up.