The National Insurance Corporation’s first Nutrition Symposium put the price of healthy food at the center of Saint Lucia’s efforts to prevent chronic disease. Two proposals emerged from the discussion: subsidize healthier staples such as brown rice and wholewheat flour, and give low-income households vouchers to buy locally grown produce.
Held on 12 November at the Finance Administrative Centre, the symposium brought together health professionals, policymakers, food service workers and members of the public. Under the theme Eat Well, Live Well: A National Conversation on Nutrition, participants examined how diet can help prevent conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
Opening the symposium, Chief Medical Officer Dr Sharon Belmar-George cited a national behavioral risk factor survey showing that 83.2 percent of people in Saint Lucia eat fewer than five servings of fruit and vegetables a day on average.
She said chronic non-communicable diseases account for more than 82 percent of deaths in the country.
Belmar-George urged policymakers to speak directly with the people who buy and prepare food for their households. She asked participants to consider what a parent earning $1,500 to $2,000 a month can afford when feeding three or four children, and how many meals a bag of rice can provide compared with what the same money would buy in local produce.
“Whole wheat flour should be the same price as white flour. Brown rice as well,” she said, proposing subsidies to narrow the price gap.
Dr Stephen King, chair of the NIC’s Non-Communicable Diseases Advisory Committee, said the cost and availability of nutritious food are among the biggest barriers to healthier eating. He proposed using revenue from a tax on unhealthy food imports to support local production. He also suggested vouchers that the lowest-income households could redeem for healthy, locally grown produce.
“Why can’t we tax unhealthy food imports and apply those taxes to healthy local food production in the first instance?” King asked.
King said the committee wants to discuss the proposals with policymakers. He also called for stronger protection of agricultural land, more technical support for farmers and efforts to bring young people into agriculture.
Belmar-George pointed to school nutrition sessions, community health walks, food demonstrations, and the MyPlate campaign as part of the Ministry of Health’s existing work. She said the next step is to improve the choices people encounter every day, from what children can buy at school to the meals served at workplaces and public institutions.
The ministries of Health and Education are reviewing a draft school nutrition and physical activity policy that includes measures to reduce the availability of sugary drinks and snacks. Belmar-George also called for healthier meals and greater use of local produce at government facilities and official functions. She urged ministries, farmers, food businesses, and civil society to work together on making healthier options easier to find and afford.
King said the NIC’s work would continue through school events, lectures, social media, and discussions with government. He also asked Saint Lucians to take stock of how much locally grown food they eat and whether their portions suit their needs.
“Look at your plate,” King said. “See what you’re eating and ask yourself how much of that is locally produced food on that plate of yours and how much of that is healthy.”
