Jade Weekes, graphic designer, Castries: I don’t think there is really much the government can do. As we all know, people all over the world are feeling the impact from price increases. We can be thankful that our situation is not as bad when compared to places like Haiti. I don’t think this is the time to complain. We should count our blessing while we still can.

Neil Sonny, bartender, Ciceron: I think the onus is on the United States to do something to help this situation. I blame them for everything that is going on now. A useless war, taking excessive amounts of oil, now everyone has to pay because they’re using up all the oil. The US should have been charged more for oil from the minute they made it clear they wanted to start a war. President Bush should have known better. Now they’re keeping these troupes in Iraq to prove a point. I think that is ridiculous. What do you have to prove anymore? So many young Americans have been killed in the war. I think it’s way past time for the US to realize, it’s time to back down.

Sydney Edwin, real estate agent, Reduit: The government should definitely try to do something more to help St Lucians. I don’t think poor people are benefiting from this at all. It’s bad for everyone but things were already bad for people who could not afford to maintain their families; now it’s one hundred percent worse.

Lenora Stanislaus, teacher, Marisule: In all other countries, people with low incomes can receive food stamps from the government to help them purchase various food items. As far as I can see this does not happen in St Lucia. If there is no one to help the poor get what they need to survive then where does that leave them? Then people want to get upset when these people break into places and steal things or when they steal food from the supermarket. The present situation in St Lucia is forcing these things to happen. They have no choice; they need to survive just like the rest of us. I think the government needs to address this immediately. Look at what’s happening now in Haiti. All the violence all because people are hungry and they can’t afford to eat.

Gene Lawrence, waitress, Canaries: If the government does not intervene things are going to get worse. I heard about this basket of food items and I haven’t heard anything about it since. If an announcement was made, which I doubt, then I probably missed it. If this so-called food basket were in existence, people would have noticed some kind of price reduction in the supermarkets.

Miguel Charlemagne, customer service representative, Bella Rosa: I think the government should do more to encourage businesses to invest in St Lucia. Invite businesses that can compete with local businesses. When that happens, generally prices have to be cut down. In terms of supermarkets we have a monopoly here in St Lucia. Super J’s is runnings thing in St Lucia. We need competition so we can enjoy more variety in goods. Every time we go to the supermarkets, we get the same things. I think the government should try their best to control the prices of some good regardless of importation prices. The government should be able to regulate prices to a certain extent so that at least the poor can afford and wouldn’t have to suffer for such a long time.

Ruben Simon, plumber, Beausejour: I’m tired of hearing people say the government is not doing enough to tackle the increasing prices. I’m especially glad I’m not in the shoes of any of these government ministers now. Obviously there is nothing the government can do otherwise they’d have done it already. I think this is how the world is going to come to an end. Everyone is just going to starve. This might sound funny but it’s a really scary possibility.

Steven Lafeuille, supervisor, Saltibus: People are talking and they’re still spending. That’s what I don’t understand. If things are so bad, stay home and save your money for important things. People still want to go to every fete, buy new clothes all the time. The problem isn’t the prices. The real problem is we’ve become so materialistic that we can’t even afford to maintain our lifestyles anymore.

Muriel Popo, flight attendant, Union: Tourism is a big income earner for St Lucia but amid this food crisis, I think that more attention should be paid to these spiraling prices. They’re out of control. Every time I go to the supermarket I see people walking around with empty trolleys or walking through the aisles empty handed just because they don’t know what to buy or don’t want to spend their money. Personally, I think I spend as much as half of my income on food every month. It’s ridiculous. I have a family to take care of; I have kids. They need to go to school. Something needs to be done and fast. St Lucians are not going to be able to cope with these prices forever.

Louis Marcella, event planner, Gros Islet: The only thing we can do now is stop importing and start producing our own products. That’s the problem with St Lucia and other islands in the Caribbean. We want to believe that government is responsible for everything. There are some things we need to do for ourselves. If everyone came together and played a part, the world would not be in a food crisis. All we do is talk and right now I’m guilty of just that. The government is doing a good job.