THE resistance shown by school administrators to push for canteens to offer more nutritious meals to children is of concern to Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who, on Tuesday, dispelled the notion that unhealthy foods have to be sold to make profits.

Tufton was responding to a view raised by principal of Craighton Primary School Dennis Davis, who was one of approximately 700 educators at a consultation session for the National School Nutrition Policy Green Paper at Merl Grove High School’s auditorium.

The health minister argued that educators have to take charge to ensure the well-being of children by helping to reduce their risk of developing non-communicable diseases.

He referenced health statistics from 2019, which noted that 17.4 per cent of children 10 to 11 years were either overweight or obese and the highest incidence of obesity are seen among six-year-olds.

“To say that I cannot police what is sold in my cafeteria on my school compound is worrying because what else could they be selling and the children have access that they are not supposed to,” he said.

“We are going to have to be change agents of the child, that is the expectation, that is our duty, and it is also a misnomer to think that because of profits cafeterias can sell anything and the only thing that is going to bring them profit is what’s not in the best interest of the child,” he added.

“We must mash down dat, dat is a misperception. It is a marketing ploy by people who don’t care about the children; they just care about the profitability and that is not what schools are all about or education is all about. I beg you, don’t carry that lie,” he said.

Davis had argued that it would be difficult to ensure healthier meals are provided in canteens as they have to sell food which, in most cases, might not be nutritious.

He added that the Government should implement legislation to enable better food choices in canteens instead of leaving school staff to independently manage the situation.

“For the responsibility of promoting healthy eating habits and, by extension, trying to change the culture from consuming too much fat and sugar, shouldn’t the onus be placed on legislation first before policy so that the legislation can determine how the policies will work?” Davis asked.

“Isn’t it too much for the schools to monitor, for example, what we sell in the tuck shops? Please note that tuck shops operate on basic economic principles and, of course, let us not even mention profit and loss. Whatever it is that is going to make our tuck shop work, that is what we have to prepare to sell. Therefore, if the manufacturers abide by restrictions on the amount of sugar and the amount of fat, then we can sell everything and no problem will be there,” he added.

Asked to comment on the minister’s response, Davis told the Jamaica Observer that school leaders cannot police people in a democracy in which there is freedom and choice.

“There is the economic aspect of canteens, where they are going to sell things to make money and staff to pay. The onus is really on the Government to regulate what is sold so that we can sell the things that are approved by Government and we wouldn’t have a problem policing what is there on the market.”

Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams said that policies have to be implemented before legislation.

“We didn’t want to move to legislation first. We didn’t want this to be one-sided. We wanted to engage, like we did today, and we will be having similar sessions across Jamaica to bring the information to you. We know that this is a change in what we are used to, but we are going to do our best…and you will see the benefit of it for your children,” she explained.

The National School Nutrition Policy was developed by the Government through the Ministry of Education and Youth in collaboration with other ministries and agencies to ensure that children are exposed to good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

In the meantime, Tufton said he hopes the policy, which is now in its Green Paper stage, will be signed off during the final quarter of the year.