A spokesman says the strike began on Tuesday night and is expected to continue until Saturday.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul says immigration detention featured strongly in the last federal election but he says many detainees in Villawood feel they have been forgotten this time.
Mr Rintoul says while most of the detainees are being held for breaching their visa conditions he says they face the same issues as asylum seekers.
"People can spend very long periods in detention without any sort of obvious remedies, their families can be separated," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration says about 370 detainees in Villawood are not attending the centre's dining room for meals.
But she says it is difficult to tell whether people are eating because food is available in more than one area in the centre. She says the department is monitoring the situation.
By Just Us 7 October 04
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