Creating healthy individuals and presenting healthier meal options were the focus of activities to observe Caribbean Nutrition Day, yesterday June 1.

Caribbean Nutrition Day was established on June 1, 2005 by the former Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute to bring more focus to food and nutrition issues.

The Elmore Stoutt High School observed the day in support of the Ministry of Education’s Healthy School initiative. Pastoral Principal at the school Ms. Donna Clyne said, “As part of the day’s activities, nutritional posters have been posted, all 13 of the lunch programme vendors received a memo that encouraged them to serve healthy dishes,  we asked them to cease from selling candies and other sweet treats today as well as only selling water  the entire day.”

Ms. Clyne added that Road Town Wholesale donated 33 cases of Nature Valley Granola bars, with each case yielding 60 packaged bars amounting to 1,980 bars for students, teachers and ancillary staff to serve as a healthy snack.

 “We simply wanted to present our students and others with a healthier snack alternative than their usual candy bars, candies, cakes, and cookies that are purchased daily,” she said.

Meanwhile on the western end of the island, the Leonora Delville Primary School focused on creating healthy individuals.  As part of the day’s activities the entire school did a sponsored health walk from the school to Carrot Bay and back, juices were replaced with water and green salad was served to the students during lunch time.

Principal Mrs. Pearlette Frazer-Smith said, “Our main objective for our activities today was to promote healthy eating and encourage physical activity. The students enjoyed the walk and the salad we gave them during lunch time.  Some of the vegetables we used in the salad came from our school garden.  Many of the students expressed that they enjoyed the day and wished we could have activities like this more often.”

The Healthy Lifestyles School Intervention Programme is being executed in primary schools across the Territory and is an initiative by the Ministries of Education and Culture and Health and Social Development. It is designed to promote healthy eating and active living through nutrition and physical activity in grades two and three students in the Territory’s public schools.

The programme features five behavioral changes of eating breakfast daily, eating fruits and vegetables, reducing daily intake of fats, salts, sugary snacks and drinks and engaging in a variety of physical activities.

The Healthy Lifestyles School Intervention Programme, is also designed to promote school-wide promotional activities and supportive school, community and home environments as Government forges towards a healthier Virgin Islands across the lifecycle.