"It is human work": qualitatively exploring community roles that facilitate cultural food security for people from refugee backgrounds

Abstract

Abstract Background Cultural food security is crucial for cultural health and, for people from refugee backgrounds, to assist with the settlement journey. Upon arrival in a new environment, people seek to form new relationships to create a sense of belonging, and food is often used as a pathway to achieve these connections. When displaced communities can act autonomously, new foodways may be formed to sustain cultural food security, and as a result, communities flourish. However, there is a lack of understanding about how refugee-background communities sustain cultural food security in the Australian context. This study aimed to explore key roles in refugee-background communities to understand why they were important and how they facilitate cultural food security.Methods Community researchers conducted interviews with people who came from a refugee-background community, lived in Greater Brisbane, and who fulfilled a key food role in the community that facilitated access to cultural foods. Participants were interviewed in the language and location they preferred. Data were collected on the participant’s role and activities supporting cultural food security. Transcripts were collectively analysed using a best-practice framework for collaborative data analysis.Results Six interviews were conducted between August and December 2022. Participants filled crucial and unique roles facilitating access to cultural foods for communities in Greater Brisbane. Cultural food security supported settlement by creating connections across geographical locations and cultures, and generated a sense of belonging that supported the settlement journey. Communities utilised communication methods that prioritised the knowledge, wisdom and experience of community members. This communication method allowed community members to influence the decisions of community retailers to increase the supply of cultural foods. Community leaders had an ethos that reflected collectivist values, where the needs of the community were an important part of their own health and wellbeing.Conclusions Communities are inherently structured and communicate in a way which allows collective agency over foodways supporting cultural food security. This collective agency is suggestive of food sovereignty where food justice and access are prioritised. Researchers and public health workers should work with communities and recognise community expertise and agency over foodways. Food security interventions should target cultural food security and autonomy.