Ministerial statement by: The Honourable Jeanne J. Atherden, CA, PCA, JP, MP
Mr Speaker and Honourable Members,
It brings me great pleasure and pride to advise this Honourable House of my Ministry’s latest wellness initiative. This one is particularly dear to me because its purpose is to help anyone on a tight budget to be able to have a healthy, nutritious diet.
Mr Speaker this month the Ministry of Health and Seniors launched the “$aver the Flavour: Eat Well for Less” initiative. For the listening audience, I note that the first word is “saver” written with a dollar sign, to convey that this is about saving money – about helping any money-conscious person keep dollars in their pocket – while having access to healthy, tasty and nutritious food.
Mr Speaker This exciting initiative is the result of a community partnership between the Department of Health, retail grocers and local farmers and wholesalers, who have united to help residents have access to a healthy, balanced diet at an affordable price.
Mr Speaker Many of us are living on a budget and looking for ways to save money. Grocery shopping can be one of the biggest expenses for a household on a tight budget. Indeed, we often hear people bemoan that they would like to eat healthily but it is too expensive.
$aver the Flavour was conceived to address this community concern, because we understand that good nutrition is fundamental to achieving our vision for “Healthy People in Healthy Communities”. This initiative allows people the opportunity to reduce food expenses yet still enjoy tasty and nutritious meals.
Mr Speaker this is part of our broader strategy for a “Well Bermuda”; specifically, it is targeted at helping to combat the obesity epidemic that plagues our community.
Mr Speaker I can explain how the concept works: The Department of Health team, along with community retail partners, have put together a range of healthy foods that the grocers will offer in their line–up of weekly specials, which will be branded with the $aver the Flavour Logo.
The items are pre-vetted by our Dieticians to ensure they are part of a balanced diet and form part of a “healthy food basket”. Previous work by the Department of Statistics and Nutrition Services compiled a list of items that made up a Healthy Food Basket based on a 2205-calorie daily intake and determined that a healthy food basket can be achieved locally for approximately $60 per adult, per week. By making the healthy food options more visible and accessible in the stores, $aver the Flavour intends to get more nutritious food into people’s weekly groceries.
We encourage the public to seek out the $aver the Flavour branded items when they shop. Look for the $aver the Flavour logo in the weekly newspaper ads and in the grocery stores as these flag the healthy affordable options. This will be especially helpful for persons on limited budgets.
This is very important because the whole purpose of the $aver the Flavour initiative is to make affordable healthy eating accessible. The goal is to ensure that a person can buy healthy foods to make balanced meals at an affordable price.
Mr Speaker This supports and complements other Ministry strategies to halt the rise of obesity and diabetes; for example: the Bermuda Daily Dietary Guidelines, the EatWell Plate, and the School Lunch Competition. These initiatives, and more, aim to promote healthy eating.
Mr Speaker although I believe all members of this Honourable House, and many of the listening public are aware that overweight and obesity are very significant problems in our community, I would like to reiterate this point.
Our most recent health survey “STEPS to a Well Bermuda” found that three of every four adults in our population are overweight or obese and 15% have diabetes. Additionally, the survey indicated that less than one in five of Bermuda’s adults get adequate daily fruits and vegetables in their diet.
Mr Speaker Access to healthy foods is a vital part of reversing these troubling trends, which is vitally important because without good nutrition Bermuda cannot have healthier people. And although some people may see “health” as a soft issue, I do not tire of reminding everyone that health is actually one of the country’s most fundamental economic issues. Because without health people cannot work. Without health, children cannot learn. Without health, teachers cannot teach, employees cannot deliver. An unhealthy workforce is an unproductive one. And an unhealthy, ageing population is a very, very expensive one.
Furthermore, Mr Speaker, the cost of treating the consequences of diseases related to overweight and obesity places a huge, unnecessary and wholly preventable financial burden on the country. If we’re serious about fixing Bermuda, we’re going to have to change our lifestyle habits. My Ministry is working diligently to push Bermuda to better lifestyle choices. And, with $aver the Flavour, we are making sure healthy foods are accessible and affordable.
I encourage everyone to make healthy eating a part of your daily routine and a way of life.
- Research easy, healthy meals
- Learn how to make simple healthy meals
- Get everyone in the household involved
- Meal Plan for the week – have a healthy menu
- Develop a budget based on your weekly plan
- Prepare foods ahead of time, in bulk, that can be easily re-heated
- And of course, have an active lifestyle
Learning to eat well and to stay healthy will reap long term dividends that all of Bermuda can benefit from.
Importantly, Mr Speaker, this is just part of a larger programme that we will see in later phases throughout the year, involving sample menus and meals, demonstrations of how easy they are to prepare, and more. We want the public to get involved to learn that eating healthily is, actually, affordable and delicious.
Mr Speaker I will add that staying physically active is the other fundamental component to healthy living, and I’m delighted with the high levels of participation in the many walks and races taking place in our community including, for example, today’s Relay for Life, and my Ministry’s recent, highly successful “Dancewalk” through Hamilton on Move More Day.
Last but by no means least, Mr Speaker, I would like to recognize and thank our partners:
- The Lindo’s Group of Companies
- The Market Place
- Miles Market
- The SuperMart
- Arnold’s Markets
- Harrington Hundreds
- Butterfield & Vallis and
- Dunkley’s
Without their positive engagement and clear commitment to a healthier Bermuda, an initiative like this would not have been possible. However, by working together, we are making the healthy choice the easier choice for everyone.
Thank you Mr Speaker.