Why is food security an issue for island nations like the Bahamas?

The majority of their food is reliant on imports, and that adds a different dimension to the word food security. A lot of times in the U.S., when we think about food security, it's having adequate access to affordable nutritious food. But there, adequate access means that the ship is able to arrive at port, that it has food on it, and that the relationship with wherever it's coming from is strong.

In the U.S. we have a school breakfast program and a school lunch program, but if you really think about what the cost of those programs looks like, for a small developing nation, it's kind of out of reach. The Bahamas, in particular, has very little capacity, if any, to monitor food security. Fundamental data that can drive any decision making is just missing, so it's really a matter of helping a country that is desperate for the information but doesn't have the infrastructure or the money to be able to fund it.