AFRIL’s Allotment of Refuge – creating a space for healing and connection through food growing

5 hours ago

4 min read

Written by Simone Riddle, Food Justice Programme Manager with input from AFRIL

‘People know what to eat, it’s the access that’s the issue’

In Lewisham, we know that food injustice affects some groups disproportionately. Residents with a No Recourse to Public Funds status (NRPF) are one of the groups most vulnerable to experience food injustice, including those waiting for an asylum claim, what we call in Lewisham ‘sanctuary seekers’. Lewisham became the first Borough of Sanctuary in 2021 which means as a borough, we are committed to make Lewisham a welcoming place to all sanctuary seekers – refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants. Ensuring Sanctuary seekers have access to food - food that is culturally appropriate, affordable, nutritious and sustainable (Lewisham’s definition of food justice) is central to this work.

AFRIL, one of the current Food Justice Community Grantees, is a charity delivering vital services for Lewisham’s sanctuary seekers. Lewisham Local’s Food Justice team went to visit AFRIL at their Allotment of Refuge on a rainy Monday morning in June 2026, to learn more about their work.

Lewisham Local Team visit to the Allotment of Refuge

In AFRIL’s experience, Louise, AFRIL’s Monitoring and Operations Officer told us that most members are very confident and enjoy cooking from scratch.

“The issue is that our members can’t afford to buy the food that they would usually choose to cook”.

That’s where AFRIL’s Foodbank and Allotment of Refuge project come in. AFRIL’s Foodbank provides healthy food along with supermarket vouchers for members. The charity also covers travel expenses for those coming to collect the food parcel or attending growing sessions. The Allotment of Refuge, AFRIL’s growing project, provides a safe space and support for members to grow their own food with a variety of fresh produce. Food grown is shared between members as well as topping up the foodbank parcels.

Lewisham Local’s Food Justice Grant went towards contributing to the running of the foodbank and the allotment project.

The project is more than food access - it supports positive wellbeing, helps people stay active, learn new skills and supports the biodiversity on the allotment site.

The growing project is co-produced by members, with support of Allotment Coordinator Rose, who provides growing advice and support. There is a mixture of indigenous and cultural foods grown – based on members’ preferences and countries of origin. AFRIL’s membership can change depending on the changing global crises and migration patterns. For example, AFRIL noticed an increase in Palestinian Sanctuary Seekers since the genocide in Gaza begun (1).

Rose tells us that growing leafy greens have been some of the most successful crops – when escaping the local hungry pigeons. Many of the members had longer-term health conditions such as diabetes so having access to fresh leafy greens is an important source of food that isn’t often available from surplus food distributors and community giving projects. This supports members to manage and make positive improvements to their diet.

Rose practices organic agriculture, and commented that they try and protect the biodiversity they see emerging on the plot. She was excited to share their first spotting of a newt in the pond, and the discovery of a slow worm and stag beetle lave, leading to them moving the composting area.

Rose is trained in Mental Health First Aid and working in trauma informed practices, acknowledging the difficult experience a lot of members have undertaken to be here and the extra support that may be needed.

“The ethos of the garden is to care for the soil how we care for we another.”

Rose told us, noting that many members have fled war, climate breakdown and need a sanctuary and space for healing and connection away from the hostile environment. The project offers a space to connect with nature, land and other people who have gone through similar experiences. As a project they co-produced garden ground rules and values to help support and maintain a safe space for members.

At breaktime the group retreated to the covered wood space to enjoy coffee and snacks.

‘I so enjoy being here, it’s the community’.

During the breaktime, members talked about feeling healthy, learning new growing skills and the value and pride they felt being able to contribute by growing food for the foodbank as well as supporting their own diet. The project seeks to support its sanctuary seekers to rebuild the sense of agency that hostile immigration policy seeks to strip away, through building community connections and improving individual wellbeing. This echoes the ethos of the ‘food citizenship’ model, a key emphasis of the grant programme.

As we left, the group was starting to prepare the space for welcoming visitors as part of their Refugee Week annual celebration, bringing together members and supporters to celebrate the year’s achievements over food. We look forward to seeing what the next year holds for AFRIL.