By Ryan Gilkes

Nearly a year after the Barbados School Nutrition Policy was introduced, the head of the committee overseeing its rollout said vendors operating on the fringe of school campuses as well as contraband smuggling of banned drinks are undermining the policy’s goal of better student well-being.

Hedda Phillips-Boyce, chair of the Barbados School Nutrition Policy Implementation Committee, told the second National Nutrition Centre Nutrition Conference on Wednesday that itinerant vendors and “brown bag” sneaking of prohibited beverages among teachers were among several challenges to the policy in need of urgent attention.

Teachers who felt themselves above the nutrition policy are “digging [their] grave with [teeth]”, she declared, warning that chronic illnesses among staff only added to their workload.

“Our problem is where the students are giving their support to vendors out of school,” Phillips-Boyce said. “We’re going to undermine this initiative if you do not address the vendors. The change can be made but we need to have those vendors addressed.”

While progress has been made in reducing soda availability in schools, a new issue has arisen with the prevalence of drinks containing artificial sweeteners. 

“We now have to look at which is the worst devil,” she said, acknowledging the need to address this emerging concern through education. “We’re seeing this sneaking in and I really believe that with the canteen concession . . . it is because of education. They’re not aware that this is what is happening. So, education is so important.”

Phillips-Boyce also discussed non-compliance among parents and teachers, emphasising the importance of rigorous monitoring and enforcement. She shared anecdotes of students selling non-compliant foods with some parents supporting this behaviour, as well as instances of teachers consuming prohibited beverages on campus.

She said: “The nutritionist I usually work with, we went to a particular school and the canteen concessionaire told us that he keeps a particular beverage in the canteen for the teachers. So, he will give the teachers this particular drink in the brown bag. We can’t have that. We need to have the teachers model their behaviour. All adults should be modelling their behaviour. We’ve even had a parent or two – not many; a lot of them understand where we’re going with this policy –… state that they felt very offended that the government wants to tell them how to feed their child. So that’s the type of person that we have to contend with.

“[We have] heard of a child who has been selling contraband . . .  foods that are non-compliant. These children are few and far between but these are stories that you need to hear. They have been selling items that the canteen concessionaire cannot sell or should not sell…. In one case, they were supported by the parents.”

The committee chair underscored the need for a unified approach involving educators modelling appropriate behaviour and addressing vendors operating outside schools to provide healthier options.

She said while some teachers are on board the policy, “unfortunately, we have some who think the policy is for the students and not for them”. 

“But education is important because if the teachers are ill, they have to do more substitution. There is more work on them because their colleagues are ill . . . We’re digging our grave with our teeth. That is a fact,” Phillips-Boyce warned.

She also stressed the significance of early intervention, commending nursery schools’ proactive efforts and stressing ongoing education and outreach, including collaborating with organisations like the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados and leveraging social media platforms.

“The best practices with regards to dietary practices need to be shared with the population. . . . you have to do what you have to do to get that message out there on social media. Our younger children use social media to get their messaging and that is something to consider,” she said. “We are making inroads. I am seeing a change… but you have to start somewhere.” (RG)

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