Haitian street foods and their nutritional contribution to dietary intake

A three month study was conducted in Port‐au‐Prince, Haiti, during the fall of 1983 in order to establish a base of knowledge regarding street foods. One hundred and forty six street food items were identified, described, and classified. A food frequency questionnaire was developed and administered to 174 secondary school students from varied socioeconomic levels to assess their street food consumption. The average consumption of calories and protein were found to be 401 kcalories and 5.8 g of protein. Significant differences in consumption values were found between socioeconomic levels. Street food consumption was found to contribute 18% of the recommended dietary allowance for the Caribbean for energy and 15% for protein. Based on a daily nutrient intake of 7.5 MJ (1580 kcalories) and 37 g of protein for urban school students, 25% of the calories and 16% of the protein in the overall diet were found to be provided by street foods.

Key words:

• Haiti
• street food
• secondary school students
• nutrition
• protein
• calories
• frequency of food consumption
• dietary intake