A healthy eating mural has been unveiled at the Soufriere Primary School as part of efforts to encourage healthier eating habits and active lifestyles among students.
The initiative, led by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition, marked the culmination of Nutrition Awareness Month and signals what officials described as a renewed commitment to ensuring children have the knowledge, opportunity and support to make healthy food choices.
Chief Nutritionist Lisa Hunt said the mural is intended to serve as a daily reminder of the importance of healthy eating.
“We hope that every child who passes this mural will be inspired to eat more fruits and vegetables, to drink more water, to stay active and value our locally grown foods here in Saint Lucia. May this mural serve as a constant teacher that encourages healthy behaviours and inspires not only the students, but also the teachers, the parents that come around here and the wider community to live healthier lives,” Hunt said.
Principal Cecilia Clovis-Haynes welcomed the initiative, saying it complements the school’s ongoing efforts to promote healthy lifestyles.
“This mural for us, it is timely, it is opportune, for it is more than just paint on a wall, but it is a reminder to our students that the food they eat helps them to grow strong, it helps to sharpen their minds and, of course, will ultimately help them to pursue their dreams in life. This artwork is not just artwork; it is not just a mural, but I see it as a pedagogical tool for our teachers and, of course, as a learning tool for our students. So in so many ways, I see it as a means of reinforcing, of complementing what we have been trying to teach them at Soufriere Primary School,” she said.
District 8 Education Officer Joel Charles-Charlemagne said the mural would reinforce healthy habits through constant visual reminders.
“Every single day, as students walk to class, gather for morning assembly or sit there at lunchtime, they see these vibrant images of colourful local foods and active children. This mural will impact our students in profound ways. This mural transforms our school environment into a living canvas that actively fights against unhealthy habits,” he said.
Parliamentary Representative for Soufriere/Fond St Jacques, Emma Hippolyte, welcomed the initiative but stressed that improving children’s eating habits requires a broader collaborative effort.
“I know that one of the things that we have to do in addition to speaking to the kids is how do we transition them to what we want them to do,” the MP said. “It starts by the Ministry of Health working with the Ministry of Education, so that’s a start, but it also means having serious conversations with the parents in terms of what is in the lunch kit, as well as our cooks in the schools and what’s in the canteen, what is offered in the canteen. So you have to take it from different angles altogether to cause it to happen.”
The mural was designed by visual arts teacher at the Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School, Yukari Charles, with assistance from former student Jackie Lawrence.
We have to encourage our youths and everyone to eat more locally grown fresh and healthy foods over Ultra-processed chemically filled imported foods.