CEQ workers at the IBIS Wug (St Pauls – Moa Island) Store in the Torres Strait spread the message of the latest Healthy Ways campaign. Photos: Supplied.
A not-for-profit operating shops across the Cape and Torres Strait has been encouraging families in remote First Nations communities to rethink sugary foods and drinks to drive down disproportionately high rates of chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes.
Community Enterprise Queensland (CEQ), working with public health agency Health and Wellbeing Queensland (HWQ), has been promoting healthier options as part of its latest Healthy Ways campaign: Real food, real energy.
Healthy Ways airs a new health message across the CEQ IBIS and ABIS shop network every eight weeks. The campaign catchphrase is: “You’re sweet enough – choose healthy ways”.
Fred Gela, CEQ chief operating officer, said: “In remote communities the local store is often the main place families shop for food, so what’s on the shelves and how it’s presented really matters and is a powerful lever for positive health change.
“Real food, real energy is about making it easier for people to choose foods that keep them feeling strong and full of energy, without relying on sugary snacks and drinks that spike and crash,” he said.
Workers at the IBIS Wug (St Pauls – Moa Island) Store in the Torres Strait get behind the campaign. Photo: Supplied.
Mr Gela said families “want to make healthy choices” and the campaign used “simple, practical messages in-store that support those choices – every shop, every week”.
“It’s one of the most direct ways we can support the long-term health of the communities we serve,” he said.
CEQ has been moving less healthy items away from high-traffic areas and making sure healthier options are visible, accessible and not crowded out.
Simone Nalatu, HWQ senior director of prevention systems, said creating environments that encouraged healthier eating was a key public health priority and the campaign was “already making a real difference”.
“We deeply value our partnership with CEQ and the incredible work being done in their stores to support this mission,” Dr Nalatu said.
CEQ manages the Islanders Board of Industry and Service (IBIS) and Aboriginal Business, Industry and Service (ABIS) shops, and other stores including Col Jones and Community Home and Hardware, Mona’s Bazaar and Mitre 10 on Waibene.
