What fruits and vegetables do working class poor communities consume? What are the drivers behind the choices they make and how do they experience their food environment? Since July 2023, we have been researching these questions in Colombo and Deniyaya as a part of our work for FRESH*. This research was conducted with working class poor families in Seevalipura, Colombo from July 2023 – October 2023, and with the Malaiyaha community in Deniyaya from February 2024 – June 2024.
What We Learned from Both Sites
The nutritional landscape of Sri Lanka’s working-class poor is complex, shaped by institutional and systemic challenges that go beyond lack of income or limited access to fresh produce. Improving their nutrition isn’t merely a matter of building marketplaces or distributing informational leaflets on healthy diets. Real change requires addressing multiple competing costs, conducting inclusive discussions, educating communities on affordable meal preparation, and even reforming land rights policies to enable self-sustained food production.
This article explores how the State and development stakeholders can support both urban and estate working-class communities in a post-COVID-19, economically challenging environment. By identifying the similarities and differences in these areas, we aim to outline the reasons behind these variations, present policy recommendations, and share insights from our comprehensive research methodology.
Similarities in both Sites
Awareness of Nutrition and Access to Local Produce
Communities in Colombo and Deniyaya already understand what constitutes a balanced diet and have access to fresh produce locally. This challenges some common misconceptions found in our stakeholder roundtables, especially regarding a widespread lack of nutritional knowledge. Contrary to this idea, we found that people strive to purchase fresh produce as much as their limited budgets allow, choosing items that they believe have health benefits. For example, families in both sites buy foods they believe combat prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in their households, such as bitter gourd for diabetes or passion fruit leaves for high blood pressure.
Similarly, the notion that poorer communities lack access to fresh produce proved inaccurate; our mapping of vendors recorded the presence of multiple vendors offering diverse fruits and vegetables in both locations. In Colombo, 121 of the 344 vendors in Thotalanga and Wanathamulla sold fresh produce, while in Deniyaya, 66 of 153 vendors sold it along the main road from Kotapola to Deniyaya.
Price is not the only Factor in Food Choices
“Farina notes that the thing she considers the most when buying produce is what the family likes to eat.” – Fazeena (43), Muwadora Uyana high-rise, Colombo
It is often assumed by policy-makers that price is the primary factor influencing food purchases for working-class families. In reality, families consider a range of factors, including nutritional value, taste preferences, and even the energy and water consumption required for meal preparation. Price of produce does play a key role, as decisions are made around competing expenses such as health, children’s education expenses, unexpected urgent expenses – given that the majority of those interviewed do not have a regular monthly salary.
Reduced diversity in food plates after the rise in food, infrastructure and utility expenses.
“We rarely get to eat fruit, only when some fall from our neighbour’s trees.” – V. Piyasena, Deniyaya
“It’s almost impossible for us to eat fruit. Occasionally, we ask neighbours with fruit trees to share some with us.”, Pushpa, Deniyaya
In the years following COVID-19 and Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, families were forced to cut spending and even reduced expenditure on essential components like nutrition.This is because their salaries are not inflation adjusted to reflect the extra income needed to finance the increase in the cost of living. Whereas families were able to consume different quantities of carbohydrates, meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits pre-COVID 19 – through 2022 – 2024 families reported cutting back on meat, fish and especially fruits due to economic constraints.
“For breakfast, we usually prepare rice with a single curry. Before the economic crisis, we had 2-3 types of curries, but now it’s just one.” – M. Aishwarya (68), Diyadawa division, Deniyaya Estate, Deniyaya.
Utility and infrastructure costs are also heavy competing costs for families, representing another significant financial burden. In Deniyaya, for example, medical costs rank as the second-highest expense due to the lack of accessible healthcare facilities and dwindling state provisioned medication. Residents often travel long distances for medical care, adding to their financial strain.
In contrast, Colombo residents incur higher utility costs, especially with electricity tariff hikes of 75% in August of 2022 and further subsequent hikes in 2023, as well as water rate increases. Over 90% of working class poor households in Colombo are connected to the national grid, and even with rates coming down in 2024, families have not financially recovered from the economic strain and asset loss. Increases in Value Added Tax and other fiscal adjustments under the country’s IMF programme has also increased expenses of goods beyond food and utilities – such as school accessories and everyday household items. These competing costs often reduce what families can afford for essential needs, namely; nutritious food.
“Gas now costs 4000 Rs, so we don’t buy it. Instead, we manage for 15 days with the 4000 Rs allocated for gas.”- Wasanthi (41), Sirisara Uyana Housing Complex, Colombo.
Differences between both sites
Spatial (In)Justice
In Deniyaya, land ownership restrictions severely impact the Malaiyaha community’s ability to ensure food security. Under the purview of the plantation companies, the Malaiyaha community do not own the land they reside on, preventing them from cultivating fresh produce. Although a few families grow low-maintenance crops like chilies and spinach in small amounts, they are restricted from expanding. This restriction significantly limits their ability to independently cultivate food for consumption. Land ownership restrictions in Deniyaya are rooted in historical policies that continue to affect the Malaiyaha community’s daily life. The inability to cultivate on their own land impacts their food options and increases their reliance on purchased produce. Furthermore, without the means to grow fresh vegetables locally, families face higher travel expenses to purchase produce in markets.
“We grow vegetables on a small scale. However, this land is not owned by us, so we cannot grow vegetables on a larger scale.” – K. Selvi (74), Deniyaya.
In Colombo, residents face a different but related issue: limited space for growing produce. Those living in state high-rise apartments for low income families find it challenging to set up even small vegetable gardens.
Furthermore, the food miles of fresh produce coming to Colombo is very high as most produce comes from as far as Dambulla, Nuwara Eliya and even Deniyaya. This leaves the supply chain vulnerable to the same shocks across the grid – namely energy and transportation – which leads to increase in prices and impact on quality.
Inconsistent School Meal Programmes creates an irregular landscape
Most children in households we interviewed in Deniyaya receive one nutritious meal a day at school, alleviating some of their family’s economic burdens. However, children in Colombo receive free school meals less frequently, if at all. While both sites reported the presence of an advisory school meal plan to advise parents against sugary and less nutritious foods such as buns and biscuits, the enforcement and monitoring of this varies in different localities. In Colombo, families are more likely to keep their children at home on days the budget doesn’t extend to a nutritious meal that can be sent to school.
My children (ages 9.5 and 5.5) don’t receive any free meals from school but the teachers check the contents of the packed lunch, if it contains prohibited items such as buns, the teacher forbids the child from eating, in some instances even throwing away the bun or sending it back home’- Samali (48), Seevalipura, Colombo.
For many families in Deniyaya, the daily meal provided by the school reduces the stress of securing nutritious food for their children. However, this programme benefits mainly younger children, leaving older students without meal support.
Policy Recommendations
Our policy recommendations are tailored to address each site’s specific challenges, focusing on solutions that address local realities instead of a generalised approach. For a more comprehensive explanation, refer to our Colombo and Deniyaya StoryMaps.
For Colombo:
For Deniyaya:
Methodology and Research Details
*Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) is a multi-partner research initiative under CGIAR aimed at enhancing diet quality, health, and livelihoods, while promoting gender equality and minimising environmental impacts. As part of FRESH, the Institute of Development Studies, U.K and Colombo Urban Lab sought to understand how working class communities in Colombo and the Malaiyaha community in Deniyaya experience their food environment. We partnered with Voice of the Plantation People organisation for the research in Deniyaya.
Our integrated approach to data collection and consultation in Colombo and Deniyaya included mapping food vendors, consulting with stakeholders, hosting participatory photography workshops, and using photovoice to capture lived experiences. Interviews with families and vendors provided in-depth insights into these communities’ nutritional landscapes, revealing the realities that challenge existing misconceptions about their lifestyles and needs.
