The changes in diet from the Islands to New Zealand have contributed to significant health concerns for Pacific Island families. Erik Erika looks at how his family are making changes following the Feeding our Futures programme.
It’s very different in New Zealand where the money economy has made us time poor. We don’t always have the energy to get the kids involved in preparing meals and it’s much easier to choose packaged foods and takeaways.
My parents faced other challenges growing up in Samoa. If people didn’t work the land, they didn’t eat. My mother Fagamalama Erika talks about how all the kids in Samoa contributed to preparing every meal – cooking, setting the table and cleaning up. My mum says food tasted good when it came out of the ground in Samoa.
Changes in lifestyle and food since coming to New Zealand have contributed to my mum’s diabetes and heart conditions and my father died of a heart attack at the age of 59. I know that the kids and future generations will suffer if we don’t get it right and be good role models.
In our family we now take the time to plan our budgets and meals for the week. In the past we would have eaten rice and bread with lasagne but now we cut out the rice and bread. Fizzy drinks and cordial are off the menu and we try to think about healthier food and eating more fruit and vegetables.
It’s very important for us is to eat together as a family. It would be unusual these days for us to eat apart and everyone understands that we sit down together for a meal.
One of the challenges is that food is very tied up with status in Pacific communities and taking salad to a gathering doesn’t go down so well. Maybe this is an attitude that we all need to think about. My circle of influence is quite small but we can all make a difference in our own small circles. It’s okay for someone to bring the meat and someone to bring vegetables when my family gets together with friends.
These are challenging issues for us to think about but I want to be fit and healthy so I can contribute to my family and community. I believe we can all make a difference.
Erik Erika is community co-ordinator for the Feeding our Futures programme, which was developed by the Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) in partnership with Agencies for Nutrition Action (ANA). For more information www.feedingourfutures.org.nz
