Hope for the Future is a youth-led, civil society-supported campaign by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), Healthy Caribbean Youth (HCY), and HCC member organisations, calling for healthier school environments across the region.
First launched in 2024, Hope for the Future is now in its third iteration. Members led “Hope for the Future 3.0” from May 23rd to June 6, 2026—a synchronized regional advocacy action calling for the ban on marketing of ultra-processed foods in and around schools.
This year’s campaign aligned with the launch of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition and partners’ digital campaign Make It Make Sense, as well as Caribbean Nutrition Month. Building on a previous campaign, Make It Make Sense uses relatable examples to encourage people to question the presence and promotion of unhealthy food and drink brands in school environments, while helping turn that reflection into support for healthier school spaces.
Activities took place across Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago from May 23rd to June 6th with an additional event in The Bahamas later this year.
Let’s Make it Make Sense – Regional Hope for the Future Interview on Youth Beats (Freedom FM) on June 3rd 2026
Click/tap to play
Interviewees:
- Dashawn Cater, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network
- Genesia Pemberton, Lake Health and Wellbeing, St. Kitts and Nevis
- Rozette Scotland, Healthy Caribbean Youth, Trinidad and Tobago
- Karissa Moss, Healthy Caribbean Youth, The Bahamas
- Akin Williams, Healthy Caribbean Youth, Grenada
- Dianne Kennedy, USA
- Kabira Foster, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados, Barbados
Key Takeaways:
Antigua and Barbuda
On Saturday, May 23, 2026, Antiguan and Barbudan members of Healthy Caribbean Youth partnered with HCC’s local civil society organization (CSO) members—the Antigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association (ABDA), the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Antigua and Barbuda, and ScrubLife Cares—at the Grow with the Flo event, led by ScrubLife Cares, to interact with the public on key topics of interest including marketing to children, unhealthy diets and local initiatives that are being led by the government and schools in support of healthier school food environments. The HCY team conducted vox pops with members of the public who raised issues such as the wide availability and affordability of unhealthy foods but also expressed support for regulations that would promote healthier food environments and address the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. The team engaged with students, youth, teachers, school administrators, representatives from the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs, Parliament, and other stakeholders.
This initiative was timely given the ongoing collaborative work by the Ministry of Health and Education to develop a food and nutrition policy. The Food and Nutrition policies for schools would also be complemented by the Sugar Sweetened Beverage Levy Legislation that is being explored locally.
The Hope for the Future initiative truly lived up to its name, and I was honoured to be involved. Through extensive collaboration and planning, the team worked tirelessly to ensure our message was heard. The positive reception and recognition of the initiative’s underlying messages reflected its success. Engaging with parents, educators, and children to raise awareness about the harmful effects of these products was especially rewarding, particularly in a region heavily affected by non-communicable diseases.
Daniela Ash, Healthy Caribbean Youth, Antigua and Barbuda
Media Coverage:
- Hope for the Future in Antigua and Barbuda Engages Community on Protecting Children from Unhealthy Food Marketing
- Campaign Seeks Protection for Children from Junk Food Marketing
- Groups embark on ‘Protecting Children from Unhealthy Food Marketing’ campaign
Barbados
On Saturday, June 6, 2026, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados and the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition hosted their Hope for the Future activity at the iconic National Heroes Square in the heart of Bridgetown. The event was led by Kabira Foster, Youth Advocacy Officer at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados, with support from Dorial Quintyne of Healthy Caribbean Youth, fellow youth advocates, and the Heart & Stroke team.
To open the event, youth advocates delivered an oratory presentation, literally taking to a mini-stage to speak about the rights of children to healthy school food environments that support their academic achievement, health, and development. This was captured by the local media. The team also engaged members of the public through vox pop interviews and interactive activities, gathering their perspectives on marketing to children and their support for healthier school food environments.
This event aligns closely with the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados’ ongoing Enough campaign which calls for the restriction on marketing of unhealthy food and drinks in and around schools.
This outreach event, Hope for the Future 3.0, was a gorgeous depiction of the word outreach itself. On June 6th 2026, volunteers of Heart & Stroke Barbados and Healthy Caribbean Coalition went “out” into the nation’s capital and showed their dedication to improving Barbados’ livelihood by “reaching” out to the youth and their guardians. Volunteers spanning across most of the age groups, from many walks of life including parents, doctors, students, lawyers and some who are simply passionate about the topic, proved that anyone is capable of bettering our children’s nutrition if they are just willing to try. Tens of citizens paid a visit to Hope for the Future 3.0 and left better informed of the importance of “removing unhealthy food & drink marketing from the school environment”. This was a stepping stone in the right direction to achieving said mission.
Megan Modeste, Youth Advocate, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados
Media Coverage:
- Push against junk food marketing to curb childhood obesity
- https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZacVUQtBSS/
Grenada
On Thursday May 28th 2026, the Grenada National Chronic Non Communicable Disease Commission (NCNCDC) was joined by the Grenada Food and Nutrition Council (GFNC) to lead their Hope for the future Activity at the T.A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC). The effort was led by Renée Thomas-Venugopal – member of Healthy Caribbean Youth and Dr. Jane Noel, Chair, Grenada Chronic NCD Commission.
This educational and engaging activity with pharmacy students built on previous youth-focused engagements led by the Commission. Renée and fellow HCY member, nutritionist, and youth parliamentarian Akim Williams facilitated an interactive session on marketing to children and its contribution to obesity and the broader burden of non-communicable diseases.
This was followed by an opportunity for students to share their views on school food environments in Grenada and discuss what changes are needed. The team looks forward to sharing these insights with key government stakeholders to help shape the policy landscape.
To have the chance to re- engage this vibrant group of students and be part of such interactive discussions on marketing to children was inspiring. To have them relive their own experiences and challenges gave us fresh insight into the issues in Grenada. Our youth are a key stakeholder group and our future, which made this activity so relevant.
Dr. Jane Noel, Chair Grenada NCNCDC
This was an excellent opportunity to engage students and see them take the lead in creating content on the importance of addressing marketing to children. The experience highlighted not only the value of educating young people, but also the importance of including them in advocacy efforts, as they are powerful voices for healthier school environments.
Renee Thomas-Venugopal, Healthy Caribbean Youth, Grenada
Jamaica
On Saturday, June 6, 2026, the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, the Heart Foundation of Jamaica and Fi Wi Children took over the busy Transportation Centre in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica.
The team engaged busy passersby on the issue of marketing to children through interactive games such as Spot the Marketing Tactic and Pick a Fact. These activities aimed to educate the public about the harms of marketing unhealthy foods to children while gathering support for healthier school food environments aligned with Jamaica’s recently implemented School Nutrition Policy.
Vox pops were also conducted to gain insight into public perceptions and priorities related to creating healthier food environments. The team looks forward to sharing a report with the Ministries of Health and Education, highlighting key findings from the engagement.
Speaking with members of the public reinforced that there is broad support for healthier school environments. People consistently pointed to the same challenges: the cost of healthier foods, the widespread availability and promotion of unhealthy options, and limited awareness of the long-term health consequences of poor nutrition. These are not issues that children or families can solve alone. They require policy action. At this stage, we need to move beyond proving the need for healthier school environments and focus on meaningfully implementing the policies that will create safer spaces for our children to thrive
Natalia Burton, Projects Officer, JYAN
The curiosity, receptiveness and in most cases, the alarm, of the people we interacted with at our Hope for the Future event, was very encouraging and spoke volumes about the work we do as youth in healthy food policy advocacy. Through the games, booth displays and conversations, many persons, including young people/youth, recognized marketing techniques they had never paid attention to before. Seeing persons make those connections through our activities and discussions reaffirmed the need for stronger policies and continued public education to help create healthier environments for children throughout the Caribbean
Rosanna Pike, Advocacy Officer, Heart Foundation of Jamaica
Media Coverage:
St. Kitts and Nevis
On Friday June 5th 2026, youth advocates from Lake Health and Wellbeing led a public engagement at Independence Square in Basseterre, St. Kitts, for their Hope for the Future activity. While on their lunch break or bustling, passer byes greeted the youth advocates to discuss the harms of marketing of unhealthy food to children and grabbed a “I SUPPORT REMOVING UNHEALTHY FOOD AND DRINK MARKETING FROM SCHOOLS!” pin and signed their support for action to ban the sale and marketing of ultra-processed products in and around school environments. This activity was led by Sarah Savage (intern, Lake Health and Wellbeing) and Crannie – a youth advocate.
The regional interview, public engagement, and discussion with Mrs. Duncan of the Ministry of Health allowed us to share important information, understand public perceptions, and become more knowledgeable on efforts that surround the topic of healthy school environments. Seeing widespread enthusiasm for the cause of Hope for the Future was inspiring and motivating! Many are passionate about creating healthy environments for schools and the community, and collaboration and continued advocacy will allow passion and action to grow.
Sarah Savage, Intern, Lake Health and Wellbeing
Engaging our future leaders to make impactful decisions for our children while creating healthy options within schools is important. The community engagement process helps us understand the public view. We often think of easy ways to satisfy our bodies by grabbing ultra processed snacks for our families, but do we look at the consequences? Let’s make a choice to change for the future generation
Crannie Cranston, Youth Health Advocate, Saint Kitts and Nevis Association for Persons with Disabilities
The team looks forward to meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Health to share insights gathered from the public regarding marketing to children and the widespread availability and accessibility of unhealthy foods.
This effort aligns closely with broader national efforts to create healthier school food environments. For example, The World Food Programme conducted a comprehensive assessment in St. Kitts aimed at identifying gaps and opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of school meals and nutrition initiatives across the island.
Trinidad and Tobago
On Friday June 5th 2026, Healthy Caribbean Youth members in collaboration with the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago NCD Alliance, the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Nutritionists and Dietitians and Mindwise held their Hope for the Future Activity at the Final Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s National Diabetes Primary Schools Quiz at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation. The activity was spearheaded by Rozette Scotland. Given the nature of the event, the team had a unique opportunity to engage directly with students and their parents through a gamified learning experience designed to increase awareness of marketing tactics targeting children, the health risks associated with ultra-processed foods, and the importance of policies that protect school environments from harmful marketing and sponsorship.
Participants moved through a series of interactive stations where they learned to identify ultra-processed foods, recognize common marketing tactics used to influence children’s food choices, and reflect on how healthier school food environments can support children’s health and well-being.
The team also had the opportunity to engage with the Minister of Education, honourable Dr.Michael Dowlath,on the issue and discuss opportunities to strengthen policies that support healthier school food environments.
The most memorable moment for me was most definitely seeing the students at the “My dream school station”. At this station the students put forward bold and innovative recommendations to make their schools healthier. They were able to envision a school that truly embodied and embraced healthy eating habits and if they can do it, so can our policy makers. It is definitely time to make their dreams a reality and push for implementation of these ideas
Rozette Scotland Registered Dietitian, Healthy Caribbean Youth Advocate, TTANDi member, National Youth Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago
What an insightful experience it was to have the thoughts and opinions of parents and teachers. The exercise showed that CSOs do in fact stand in solidarity with the schools. I thoroughly enjoyed engaging in the vox pop and being a part of the event overall. I believe it made an impact on the teachers and parents on how they view the school environment.
Charissa David, Registered Dietitian, Trinidad and Tobago Noncommunicable Disease Alliance program officer
It was enlightening to be part of this regional campaign and to know that not only are children and their guardians aware of the widespread exposure to ultra-processed foods and the negative impact of these foods, but to know that they themselves want more nutritious choices. This event was a significant and wonderful step in advocating for healthier food and drink options in and around schools and we (TTANDi) look forward to more events to build off of this momentum and keep the conversation going with policymakers and other stakeholders.
Mizaaj Mohammed, Registered Dietitian, TTANDi Member
The team looks forward to sharing key insights from the engagement with stakeholders in the Ministries of Health and Education, particularly as both Ministries continue efforts to implement revised school nutrition guidelines and explore front-of-package warning labels (FOPWL).
Media Links:
- https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1433345435494356&id=100064567399017&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=zlFxXrFlA5hZkNod
- https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1008991461880530&id=100083090569267&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=lCcDmE7f7m2SsmCk
- https://www.facebook.com/reel/1055454210161243