Securing the food system

There's a group in town committed to ensuring everyone in Lab. West has access to good nutrition.

Noreen Careen, executive director of the local Women's Centre, and Sarah Frank, a registered dietician, sit on the food security subcommittee of the Labrador Regional Wellness Coalition, and since March is Nutrition Month, they are encouraging residents in Lab. West to start thinking about healthy eating and nutrition.

"A person can't eat healthy if they don't have the means," Careen stated. "When people think about food security they often think about food safety, but what it means is that everyone at all times has access to enough food that is affordable, healthy, culturally acceptable, meets dietary needs and is obtained in a dignified manner."

Frank noted when you consider the definition, a lot of people in Lab. West probably have food security issues.

She said it's time for communities to start looking at food systems that are more sustainable.

"Our food system is not sustainable right now," she stated. "We should be eating things that are more locally grown and that haven't travelled thousands of miles to get to our grocery stores because that is not sustainable."

Hunting, fishing, gardens...

Careen said taking advantage of community gardens, and eating more food gathered from hunting and fishing would help food security.

Frank explained she would like to see people going back to their traditions and eating the way they did 100 years ago.

"We should be eating less packaged and processed food that has travelled so far to get here, and more of the seasonal foods and traditional foods we were eating before," she noted. "That being said, caribou, moose meat, and other game meat is healthy. Wild berries are healthy and root vegetables are healthy."

Frank said how people prepare food needs to change as well.

Get back in the kitchen

She'd like to see residents getting back into the kitchen and preparing meals, rather than relying on convenient processed foods.

"Plan ahead, make a shopping list, plan your recipes," she recommended. "It doesn't necessarily have to be all from scratch, but we need to get back into traditional ways of eating."

She stressed food doesn't have to be fresh - canned and frozen options are great and sometimes better when it comes to nutrition.

"There's that perception that fresh is best and that's not always the case," she pointed out. "Frozen food is usually picked at the peak time of nutritional quality and then it's frozen."

Frozen and canned goods are also less expensive, Frank pointed out, which makes it eating healthy more affordable.

She'd like to see people making more of an effort to eat according to the Canada Food Guide, which would include lots of fruits and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, low fat dairy products and whole grains.

Takes work

Frank said eating healthy takes some work, but there is so much value in it.

"Such good things can come out of it," she stated. "Bring everyone back to the table to have a family meal. That's beyond nutrition; that's building a family. Teach your kids how to cook; those are all sustainable practices and they are all linked to food security."

Frank and Careen recognize healthy options aren't always the most affordable, but there are ways to make it more budget friendly.

Frank recommends buying more frozen and canned goods, purchasing less meat and buying in bulk.

"Go with more beans," she suggested. "They are less expensive and a great source of protein. We could buy more in bulk, make larger meals and freeze them. There are staple products that you can get that are still very healthy and inexpensive."

She noted even making a pizza from scratch and eating smaller portions could make a huge difference.

Frank said eating less meat and replacing it with fruits, vegetables and lentils is a good idea too.

Balancing act

"It's all about balance," she said.

"We need to do a lot of education on nutrition," Careen stated. "Knowledge is power. When you know better, you do better."

She said food security isn't just a poverty issue; it affects everyone and changing nutrition has to become a lifestyle.

She'd like to see everyone - no matter what their income or lifestyle - do the best they can to make positive changes and recognize there are options out there.

"When suppertime comes we're going to be hungry," she noted. "We need to plan and the more you plan, the easier it gets."

Frank said Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have one of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the country; there's a lot of work to do and she wants people doing more to help their health.

Right now, Careen noted the food security subcommittee is working with other groups in community in hopes of alleviating food security issues and she thinks making connections to others is key.

She'd like to see more people join the group and anyone who wants to help can contact Frank at 944-9361 or Careen at 944-6562.