(E) Food provided in camps 76% reported that they were dissatisfied with the quality and/or quantity of food provided in the camp but did not have the financial resources to cook their own food The low level of cash assistance meant that most interviewees relied on food provided in the camp. However there were recurring reports that pre-packaged meals provided to camp residents were lacking in variety, taste and nutritional value. The inability to choose what to eat also according to respondents’ own cultural norms and tastes - was a key complaint which attested to the lack of dignity afforded to people living in camps. A woman in Kavala with a medical condition requiring her not to consume salt reported that she could not eat the campprovided meals and was not provided with an alternative. Several respondents across facilities reported that they threw out the food or attempted to re-cook it. Additionally, NFIs were frequently not provided at all or only in very limited quantities by camp authorities. For instance, a family in Koutsochero camp had to buy their own items for a baby born in the facility, adding to the burden of travel costs and medication. According to information provided by UNHCR, NFIs are not provided systematically in camps¹⁵⁶. According to data from the MoMA, 35% of people resident in mainland refugee camps at the end of 2023 were not entitled to reception conditions¹⁵⁷. This includes people who had received a rejection of their asylum claim or were recognised refugees, in addition to people whose claims were deemed inadmissible based on the concept of Turkey as a safe third country. A resident in Katsikas who had received a positive decision continued to receive food but reported that the camp management made it clear that he was not entitled to it, making him feel precarious. Others in a similar situation relied on CSOs to access food¹⁵⁸. An illustrative example is a young woman in Ritsona who did not have access to cash assistance or food in the camp, and was forced to rely on other families to share their food with her, or to find leftovers thrown out in bins. Given that water is supplied in bottles rather than at a drinking point, she also had to rely on others to receive water, or drink unfiltered water from the tap. “Theleft: quality of thepre-packaged food is very meals bad. For example, it’s either Photo Discarded provided in Kavala camp.frozen or it smells bad. The egg smells verybybad or therespondent. cucumbers areApril frozen and as soon as they are unfrozen, we need to Image shared interview Date: 2024. throw them away because they go bad.” year old man from Afghanistan, Lagkadikia camp Photo right: Rotten eggs given to residents in 40 Koutosochero camp. Image shared by interview respondent. Date: June 2024. “Everyone who tastes the food, they just throw it away. It’s not edible at all. We complained for so long, but they never did anything about it. Sometimes it’s even expired.” 21 year old man, Kavala camp 39