SUNDAY 9 JULY, 2017 – UWI TODAY
15
CAMPUS NEWS
Rena Jangeesingh-Nunes is a mom on a mission.
The early childhood educator attached to The UWI
School of Education’s Family Development and Children’s
Research Centre has found a way to get picky preschoolers
amped up about healthy eating.
And she wants to pilot her project among three- to
five-year-olds across the Caribbean.
“I work with fussy eaters every day and I saw an
opportunity to develop healthy eating habits in children
from an early age using art as the medium of expression,”
she said.
“I know that children love visual art, they love
performance, they love poetry… and I decided why not do
something like that to promote healthier lifestyles?”
From this was birthed the idea for The University of
the West Indies’ School of Education Family Development
and Children’s Research Centre’s (UWI-FDRC) “Caribbean
Food Revolution Food and Art exhibition 2017”.
Held on May 10 at the Faculty of Education, the
exhibition was spearheaded by Rena herself, marshalling a
small army of hyperactive tots, enthusiastic staff members,
proud parents and other collaborators.
The exhibition aimed to foster healthy lifestyles and
eating habits from pre-school to adulthood by building
bridges connecting different stakeholders who share a
similar vision. Ultimately, the objectives are to:
• achieve greater awareness of eating healthy local foods
• create avenues for open communication and dialogue
with professionals in the field of Health, Nutrition and
Wellness
• develop local nutritious recipes
• help children & families make healthy choices
This dovetails nicely with the very mission of the UWI-
FDCRC. The Centre has been a model for developmentally
appropriate early childhood care and education (ECCE)
both locally and regionally. It provides training for future
early childhood professionals and frequently conducts
workshops for parents and the wider ECCE community.
The closely aligned UWI-FDC generates research with an
aim of improving the life outcomes for children of Trinidad
and Tobago and the Caribbean.
Its mission statement prioritizes the critical early
childhood development needs of the Caribbean through a
model teacher development unit, policy-oriented research
and complementary early childhood services to families
and their communities.
It promotes nation building via poverty eradication,
exemplary parenting and curriculum reform and
development in early childhood care and education.
Even so, the innovative Food &Art Exhibition idea was
too big to be confined to the School of Education’s Family
Development and Children’s Research Centre. Rena enlisted
other schools to participate, recognizing that the initiative
needed widespread support from a multiplicity of partners
to succeed and continue thriving.
And there is no doubt the first-time Exhibition was
a triumph given the crowds that thronged the School of
Education. They were greeted by an innovative display
Students checking out the healthy food on display.
Whatever We Eat, We Draw
Food meets art for preschoolers
B Y S H E R R Y A N N S I N G H
Sherry Ann Singh is a freelance writer.
of artwork, all created by preschoolers: 3D replicas of
banana and other trees, an eggplant made from socks, a
pumpkin patch made of plastercine moulding clay, and
two-dimensional representations of the dasheen plant. Food
inspired collages and poetry completed the artistic showcase
of the works of seventy students.
The exhibition also featured the ‘Farm to Table’
Approach whereby healthy, tasty meals were created from
local food crops grown by the pre-schoolers themselves.
Farm to Table is a social movement advocating for
local, seasonal, fresh and organically-produced foods and
has been promoted by both farmers and Chefs as a means
to connect consumers to the source of the ingredients in
their meals.
“At the Children’s Centre we grew food crops utilizing
seedlings obtained from experts who visited us on World
Food Day,” Jangeesingh-Nunes said. “We practice the farm
to table approach – we grow the food, reap it and eat it.Then
we go a step further – whatever we eat, we draw.”
Other attractions at the Exhibition included
professionals in their fields conducting food demos; health
screenings such as vision testing, Body Mass Index, blood
pressure testing and dental examination; and booths offering
samplings of healthy food products.
Thrilled that the pioneering initiative was both
enthusiastically received and well attended, Jangeesingh-
Nunes acknowledged the contribution of various supporters
including the families of preschoolers enrolled at the
Children’s Centre, members of staff, schools within the St.
George East district, professionals in the Health field and
the Department of Food & Agriculture.
Indeed the Food and Art Exhibition made such
an impression there is already interest from external
stakeholders to further develop the initiative, with one
such potential partnership being with the University of the
Southern Caribbean.
Acknowledging the diversity of indigenous plants and
cuisine, Jangeesingh-Nunes said this combined with the
Centre’s innovation-driven need to reach people offered
an even broader vision for Healthy Lifestyle Promotion.
“We have so much to offer the world,” she said. “My
vision is to start in Trinidad and Tobago and then expand to
the different islands.The intention is to repeat the exhibition
but not in the same way. It will grow and evolve.”
“I work with fussy eaters every
day and I saw an opportunity
to develop healthy eating
habits in children from an
early age using art as the
medium of expression.”
The Caribbean Food Revolution Food
and Art exhibition 2017 was conceived
by Rena Jangeesingh-Nunes, an early
childhood educator.
