A farm to fork approach to nutritious school meals: Tackling childhood obesity in the Caribbean

In St Kitts-Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago, partnerships between the agriculture, health, and education sectors have united in a "Farm to Fork" effort to tackle childhood obesity. The Farm to Fork model is built on three pillars: increased fruit and vegetables in school lunches; procurement from local farmers; and support for increased horticultural production.

Locally produced fruit and vegetables supply up to 90% of children’s lunches. Before the project, almost no local fresh produce was used. Vegetable and fruit consumption among more than 1,000 children has increased significantly, approaching international guidelines. The Kitts-Nevis government has created a Joint Communications Committee to raise public awareness of how the Farm to Fork addresses obesity.​

This document is a part of the Stories of Change series that shares some of the emerging outcomes from research supported in Latin America and the Caribbean by the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund,a program of Canada's International Development Research Centre, undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.