Presented By: Miss N Mark

Pitlochry Primary School Educator

KEYWORDS

1. Emergency – a serious situation that happens unexpectedly and that requires action to save lives.

2. Persecution – from the verb ‘to persecute’, which means to pick on someone or to make someone suffer.

3. Famine – a serious shortage of food, causing people to be hungry and even die of starvation.

4. Cholera – a disease that spreads through water. It causes serious diarrhoea and can be deadly if left untreated.

5. Starvation – severe hunger caused by not eating enough food to give the body the energy it needs.

6. Malnutrition – an illness caused by not eating the right types of food to give the body the nutrients it needs.

7. Nutrients – substances that the body needs to help it grow and to keep the bodily processes working.

8. Fortified blended food – a dried, pre-cooked food, usually mixed with water and served as a porridge; the word fortified means that it has added vitamins and minerals; the word blended means that it contains a mixture of foods such as soy, maize, skim milk and sometimes vegetable oil

EMERGENCY FOOD FOR REFUGEES

One problem that refugees face every day is having food to eat and safe water to drink. Organisations that help provide food for refugees know that fresh, unprocessed food keeps the body healthy and is also the cheapest food. But raw food takes time to cook. Tools and a place to prepare the food are needed, as are water and heat source.

What would it be like to be cut off from the rest of the world without food, water and electricity? What would you eat and drink? The Red cross recommends that every family should be prepared for an emergency situation. They should keep a special supply of food and water in a cupboard at home. Foods that don’t need refrigeration or cooking are best. These foods include powdered soup, dried fruit and peanut butter. The expiry date of these foods should be checked often and the food replaced if need be.

What other foods can you think of that are suitable for storage in case of an emergency?

SUITABLE EMERGENCY FOODS FOR REFUGEE CAMPS

Foods supplied to a refugee camp needs to suit the conditions and people living in the camp. Food is suitable if it:

• Provides nutrients that the body needs to grow and stay healthy• Is easy to prepare when tools and space to cook food are limited• Doesn’t spoil easily• Can be cooked on a fire as wood is the most common fuel for heating• Is familiar to people receiving it• Is relatively cheap

PROBLEMS WITH PROVIDING FOOD

There are a number of problems in providing food to refugee camps:

• Transport – Food has to be transported from city centres to refugee camps. Transport costs are high. Sometimes the food is stolen on the way to the refugee camp.

• Storage – Food needs to be stored safely. It must be protected from theft and spoilage. Sunlight, rain, insects and rodents could spoil or contaminate the food.

• Fuel and water – Availability of wood, gas or electricity, and fresh water for cooking is often a problem.

Refugees will come to a refugee camp in large numbers, and usually very suddenly, so the cooks at a refugee camp will need to cook in large quantities.

When refugees arrive at the refugee camp, they will be hungry, and some may even be suffering from starvation or malnutrition. So the camp will have to provide enough food and the right types of food to help the people to become healthy again. Remember that there will be a limited amount of money available to support the refugee camp. Volunteers at the camp will have to provide refugees with the best food possible, with the money that is available.

ORGANISATIONS THAT PROVIDE FOOD FOOR REFUGEES

Food is mostly provided by the government of the host country. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the International Red cross and Red Crescent and Rotary International also step in to help countries or areas that face a refugee crisis.

THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME OF THE UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation that aims to keep peace throughout the world and improve living standards and human rights. It has various specialised programmes including the World Food Programme (WFP), which is involved in preventing hunger and malnutrition. The WFP has developed a food basket for people in emergency situations. The food basket provides the basic nutrients that a person needs for one day. It includes cereal, pulses and legumes, vegetable oil and fortified blended food blends. An example of a fortified blended food blend is a mix of maize and soya with extra vitamins and minerals added. The table below shows the foods that make up the Recommended Daily allowance (RDA) in the food basket. The RDA is the recommended daily intake of nutrients and energy that a person needs to maintain good health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNHHx4Uxs_sRefugees need food that doesn’t go off quickly. It needs to provide energy and be cheap and nutritious. The food should be easy to prepare and cook. It needs to provide the RDA for each person’s nutritional needs. It should be tasty and familiar because familiar foods provide a sense of comfort and security. Ideally, the packaging it is supplied in should be re-sealable and waterproof.

THE FOOD PLATE

When a refugee family first arrives at a refugee camp, their most urgent need will be for a meal that will give them enough energy to survive and the right nutrients to keep them healthy. What food groups will give them the energy they need? What food groups will give them the nutrients they need to stay healthy? How much food will the occupants of a refugee camp need?

MyPlate is a new and easy method used to plan a balanced meal. The plate is divided into four coloured sections. Each colour represents foods that must be eaten each day: fruit, vegetables, cereals and protein. Dairy is placed next to the plate.

According to MyPlate, the number and size of servings per meal should be as follows:

• Fruits and vegetables should be half the plate, but there should be more vegetables than fruit.

• Grains (cereals) and proteins should be half the plate, but there should be more cereals than protein.

• There should be one serving of dairy per meal.

Here are some examples of the types of food in each food group:

• Fruit: oranges, apples, banana, berries, peaches• Vegetables: carrots, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, pumpkin• Grains: also known as starch or carbohydrates and includes foods like rice,

mealie meal, bread, pasta, and breakfast cereal• Protein: beef, chicken, pork, fish, as well as vegetables like beans and

lentils• Dairy: milk, yoghurt, cheese

The refugees will need carbohydrates to fill them up and give them energy. Often the refugees will be provided with their staple food as a carbohydrate e.g.Rice, mealie meal, bread, oats or couscous.

Unfortunately in a refugee camp, fresh fruit and vegetables are very difficult to get. For this reason, many refugees suffer from malnutrition. Refugees could eat canned or pickled fruit and vegetables in order to get at least some of the nutrients they need.

In most refugee camps, the occupants will be given vegetable protein, such as beans or lentils, which will need to be cooked. A little salt should be added to improve the taste. Fish, meat and dairy products are difficult to keep fresh without refrigeration and they are also expensive. Refugees may be given powdered milk so that they can get some of the calcium they need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5gNFLhB1ag

EXAMPLE OF A MEAL FOR A REFUGEE CAMP

In most refugee camps, food is rationed. A ration is a set amount of food that each refugee is entitled to have per day. An example of a daily food ration for one person per day is 400g wheat or maize (mealie meal); 60g beans, peas or lentils; 25g vegetable oil; 15g sugar; and 5g salt. This ration may be supplemented with up to 100g of fortified blended food.

In temporary camps, the refugees will need to be fed immediately, and they will not have any place to cook their food. This is when volunteer cooks will have to cook a ready-to-eat meal for the whole refugee camp. An example of a meal that could be prepared in refugee camp is samp and beans, with pickled beetroot. This meal contains carbohydrates, protein and vegetables. The 8 kg of dried samp will make about 40kg of cooked samp, which will be enough for a 400g serving each for 100 people. Remember that most dried carbohydrates (such as mealie meal and rice) will weigh about five times as much after they are cooked.

The ingredients and cooking equipment for cooking the meal are listed in the table below:

Ingredients Equipment8kg dried samp Filled gas bottles

2.5kg dried beans Large gas stove

10 x 1kg bottles of beetroot Large pots

70 l water Large wooden spoons (for stirring)

1 cup salt Large metals spoons (for serving)

Tables

Cutlery and crockery

This is the process or sequence of manufacture for making samp:

1. Soak the samp and beans in water overnight. Drain before cooking.2. Pour the water into a pot and bring to the boil. You may have to use

several pots.3. Pour the drained samp and beans into the pot.4. Cook for about three hours on a medium heat, stirring occasionally.5. When ready, the samp and beans will be soft and all the water should

have cooked away.6. Add salt, stir and serve with a few pieces of beetroot.

CREATING TASTY MEALS

When planning and preparing a meal for refugees, ensure that it looks and tastes good. Remember to consider the following factors when planning your meal:

CREATING TASTY MEALS

Appearance

Texture

Smell

Flavour

Activity 1

1. What makes food suitable for refugee camps?2. List 5 foods that are suitable for refugee camps.3. What is a staple diet?4. Define the following words:a. Starvationb. Malnutrition5. What food groups make up the food plate?6. Provide one example of food from each group.7. Why can things like fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, meat and dairy not be kept at refugee camps?

Activity 2

Look at the list of foods below. Using the knowledge you have gained, decide which foods are suitable for a refugee camp. Justify your answers – for example, will spoil quickly, is expensive and so on. Copy the table and fill in your answers.

Nutrient Food type Suitable/unsuitable Reason

Protein Lamb chops    

  Soya beans    Carbohydrates Bread    

  Cereal    Fats Butter      Vegetable oil    

Vitamins Apples      Carrots    Minerals Salt      Marmite    

Activity 3

Refer to the table below which depicts the contents of a food basket provided by the World Food Programme of the United Nations

1. Design your own South African food basket similar to the food basket provided by the WFP. Be specific. Name the foods that you would use – for instance, say “samp”, not “cereal”.2. Draw a food plate and design a balanced meal for a winter supper. You may draw the food or paste pictures on the plate. Label your drawing and be specific – for instance, don’t just write ‘vegetables’, name them.

Activity 4 – Design a meal for refugees

Imagine that you are a volunteer at a refugee camp and you have been asked to design a meal at the camp. You need to feed 100 refugees, and the meal that you suggest must be nutritious and tasty. You must be able to prepare the meal under the conditions likely to be found in a refugee camp.Use the table below to assist you.

Quantities for servings for 1 to 100 people

1. Write a design brief giving specifications of the types and quantities of food needed for a population of 100 refugees.2. Name and describe your meal in 1-2 sentences.3. List the ingredients of the meal. Include the quantities of each ingredient.4. List the equipment that will be required to make the meal.5. Explain why this is a good meal to serve in a refugee camp. Refer to the nutritional value, ease of preparation and flavour.6. Choose one food item from the meal. Write down the sequence of manufacture for the process of preparing this food item.

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