TBC is the main supplier of food, including rice, cooking fuel, fish paste and beans to the camps.
Funding shortfalls in recent years have seen a reduction in the quantity of refugee household rations. In 2013 a Community-Managed Targeting system was introduced in order to allocate rations more precisely according to need.
Under the system refugee committees identify the needs of households according to different criteria and identify them as most vulnerable, vulnerable, standard or self-reliant (the latter category accounted for just 1 percent of households in 2016). The most vulnerable households and those with children under the age of 18 receive extra rations.
Meanwhile, the food assistance programme broke new ground in 2016 when a pilot Food Card System was introduced in sections of Nu Po and Tham Hin camps, overseen by Food Card System Working Group. Following the review of the programme in late 2017, positive feedback and high level of confidence both from its local representatives and the displaced persons communities, TBC introduced the Food Card System programme in two further camps – Ban Don Yang and Ban Nai Soi – in 2018. The FCS has now been rolled out to all nine camps for several years.
The food card programme allows refugees to buy their own food from around 50 participating vendor shops mainly run by refugees, promoting greater choice, decision-making and dignity within households and the communities.
The vendors, many of whom are women, buy fresh produce from refugee gardens and agriculture plots and rice, oil, spices and other items from Thai suppliers.
A short video on the new food card system can be viewed here.
TBC’s Food Security & Nutrition programme works to complement its food assistance to the camps.
The programme is targeted at vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and people with debilitating health conditions.
In 2016, TBC expanded its Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCP) campaign which targets pregnant mothers and their children.
The drive focuses on promoting maternal nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life with breastfeeding until 24 months, and breastfeeding with complementary feeding starting at six months.
TBC’s complementary baby food called BabyBright has been introduced into six camps with the highest rates of child stunting.
A strategy to educate caregivers on appropriate feeding practices includes sharing the benefits of AsiaREMIX, a fortified flour, which TBC distributes as an extra ration to households with members under 18 years of age.
In addition, malnourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and people suffering from debilitating health conditions continue to benefit from TBC’s Supplementary and Therapeutic Feeding programmes.
