Parliament Protest

Ben and I have been living off a Red Cross Food Parcel each for the last week. We have accepted the Endurance Challenge, set by The Boaz Trust, for the 2 weeks that we are living at Parliament Square.

The Food Parcels are not issued by the Government, in fact, a refused, destitute asylum seeker will be lucky if there is a charity nearby offering Food Parcels. For those fortunate enough to have a charity offering food parcels, it is often the only source of food they will get.

Having lived on a food parcel for the last week, it is clear that it is enough to survive. You certainly don’t get your 5-a-day, it’s more like your 5-a-week! It has been put together to try and balance the nutrients the body needs, yet it is not enough. I have felt a low level of hunger throughout the week.

We have a gas stove with us in our tent, but a destitute asylum seeker with no home obviously has no kitchen and no stove. So some items like the pasta and rice can’t be used. Some refused asylum seekers sofa-surf between friends or nice people. In these cases, they will have access to a kitchen, but not everybody is so lucky.

Ben and I have found our meals boring, due to the lack of choice we have over what we have available. We have also thought that some of the food might be very strange to asylum seekers from different countries, like baked-beans or spaghetti hoops!

I’m nowhere near as enthusiastic about our diet going into our second week, I’m tired of feeling hungry.