Sufra's activities reviewed and the need for a fair and humane asylum system

I have just received Sufra Food Bank's latest Newsletter and am sharing the extracts below:

 

The UK has long been stuck in a ‘doom loop’ of poverty, with one in five households with children now going without meals and 11 million people experiencing food insecurity. An utterly shameful situation in one of the world’s richest counties.   Charities like Sufra can’t take the state’s place in providing basic economic security for local people – especially those experiencing hunger and deprivation. But in the absence of adequate statutory support, Sufra – like many other charities – have had little choice but to step in to fill the void.  We’ve just been crunching the numbers: the last financial year was unprecedented in terms of demand, innovation in our services, and the scale of our work.   You can read a short blog about all we did last year here, but below are a few key facts and figures to give you a flavour of what’s been happening at Sufra between April 2023 and March 2024:   We distributed almost 10,000 food parcels at our Food Banks, served around 19,000 people freshly cooked hot meals at our Community Kitchens, and facilitated over 3,000 shopping trips at our Community Shop.  We expanded our Welfare Advice Team, supported nearly 500 guests with professional advice (including many asylum seekers, refugees and migrants), and applied for OISC accreditation so that we can provide immigration advice (coming soon!).    We established a successful new Community Wellbeing Project with a community shop, café and comprehensive wrap around support. We even launched a Toolkit to encourage the programme to be replicated in other parts of the UK.   St. Raphael’s Edible Garden has been in full bloom. We harvested 3/4 of a tonne of fruit, vegetables and nuts – and distributed much of this at our weekly Garden Market, which saw 361 visits throughout the year.   We recruited 205 inspiring new volunteers who gave up 13,000 hours of their time to support members of their community across all of our services – from Food Aid and the Garden to Advice and even Admin.    As you can see, we have been focused on establishing holistic programmes that help prevent poverty and reduce demand for emergency food aid.   But none of this would have been possible without the support of our generous donors, supporters and inspiring volunteers – people like you! So, on behalf of everyone at Sufra, please accept our heartfelt gratitude for helping us achieve all that we did.

Calling for a Fair and Humane Asylum System

The theme for this year’s Refugee Week (17-23 June) is ‘Our Home’ – a theme that resonates deeply with Sufra’s values and our work. If you’ve ever visited Sufra, you will know that our advice guests can access a welcoming community space, fresh food, and tailored professional support - which will soon include accredited immigration advice.   In recent months, Sufra’s Advice Team has been overwhelmed by the huge rise in homelessness among our refugee guests. Across London, refugee homelessness has increased by a shocking 239%.

What’s the issue?

Upon receiving refugee status, asylum seekers are served eviction notices and given just 28 days to find alternative accommodation – many have been given as little as 7 days.   Given that they have no income, savings or employment at that point, most end up homeless and without any adequate support, which inevitably leads to destitution and distress.

What can you do?

Please bear this crisis in mind when considering the upcoming election - we all need to hold policymakers to account for policies such as these that directly impact our guests at Sufra.   You can also support this campaign by the Refugee Council, calling on the UK Government to treat people fairly and with dignity when they arrive in the UK.   If you would like to support the work of Sufra’s brilliant Advice Team directly, you can contribute to our Emergency Aid Fund here, which we often use to provide emergency accommodation and other essentials for those experiencing homelessness.

Support Sufra’s Emergency Aid Fund here