nutrition and 'fugees

[Woody Evans]

How do refugees (of weather disasters, of wars,) get information about sources of food once they're in a new host country?

What does the friction between the old foodways and the new food available in the post-migration situation do for their health (esp. of young, old, and ill)?

How do we know?

[Spencer]

I know that in Fort Worth there is a large group of refugees from Burundi and Catholic Charities actually takes them on walks around their new neighborhood and show's them the grocery stores, libraries, etc.

I think that grocery stores in areas that are heavily populated with immigrants tend to carry more of their native foods over time. For the first members of such a population, or a small population, I'm sure they quickly adapt to McDonalds and other places they've seen or heard of for years.

Personally, I've not been a refugee, but I have moved a lot to many different and strange countries. I found myself adapting to their diets pretty quickly, with mostly positive health effects. I also know that the main thing I missed was the food I was accustomed too.

Of course, this is all based on refugees relocating in the melting pot of the good ol' US of A. I have no idea what it would be like for someone from Iraq taking refuge in Buenos Aires.