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Caring Through Food at Europe’s Border – An Exploration of the Refugee Community Kitchen in Calais

Feller, Marie-Lisa LU (2025) HEKM51 20251
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
This thesis investigates how community-based food practices for people-on-themove at the EU’s border in Northern France act as practices of care in response to-the violence, neglect, and carelessness of the EU border regime. While existing-critical border and migration literature discuss the nexus of traditionalhumanitarianism and care at the border, less attention has been paid to the-countering efforts of volunteer-based action through the lens of food. Using a-qualitative, abductive approach, this single-case study design draws on fifteen-semi-structured interviews with volunteers and ethnographic fieldwork. The study-is informed by a political ecology perspective and framed by feminist theories of-care, which specifically address the... (More)
This thesis investigates how community-based food practices for people-on-themove at the EU’s border in Northern France act as practices of care in response to-the violence, neglect, and carelessness of the EU border regime. While existing-critical border and migration literature discuss the nexus of traditionalhumanitarianism and care at the border, less attention has been paid to the-countering efforts of volunteer-based action through the lens of food. Using a-qualitative, abductive approach, this single-case study design draws on fifteen-semi-structured interviews with volunteers and ethnographic fieldwork. The study-is informed by a political ecology perspective and framed by feminist theories of-care, which specifically address the concepts of embodiment, relationality,-solidarity, and resistance. Findings show that volunteers’ prioritisation of a-material and tangible impact is underpinned by moral and political considerations-that challenge the status quo at the border. Experiencing the tension between their-concrete care and the ongoing carelessness, volunteers refrain from viewing their-engagement as politically transformative. The thesis argues, however, that food-practices at the border are inherently imbued with political meaning and can be-understood as ordinary resistance, while acknowledging the power asymmetries-that control grassroot organisation, volunteers, and the people they seek to-support. (Less)
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author
Feller, Marie-Lisa LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
care, people-on-the-move, food practices, EU border regime, volunteers, solidarity, resistance
language
English
id
9209521
date added to LUP
2025-09-22 16:01:10
date last changed
2025-09-22 16:01:10
@misc{9209521,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates how community-based food practices for people-on-themove at the EU’s border in Northern France act as practices of care in response to-the violence, neglect, and carelessness of the EU border regime. While existing-critical border and migration literature discuss the nexus of traditionalhumanitarianism and care at the border, less attention has been paid to the-countering efforts of volunteer-based action through the lens of food. Using a-qualitative, abductive approach, this single-case study design draws on fifteen-semi-structured interviews with volunteers and ethnographic fieldwork. The study-is informed by a political ecology perspective and framed by feminist theories of-care, which specifically address the concepts of embodiment, relationality,-solidarity, and resistance. Findings show that volunteers’ prioritisation of a-material and tangible impact is underpinned by moral and political considerations-that challenge the status quo at the border. Experiencing the tension between their-concrete care and the ongoing carelessness, volunteers refrain from viewing their-engagement as politically transformative. The thesis argues, however, that food-practices at the border are inherently imbued with political meaning and can be-understood as ordinary resistance, while acknowledging the power asymmetries-that control grassroot organisation, volunteers, and the people they seek to-support.}},
  author       = {{Feller, Marie-Lisa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Caring Through Food at Europe’s Border – An Exploration of the Refugee Community Kitchen in Calais}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}