‘Eat Local Day’ commodity fair at Independence Square

Staff Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS - Independence Square will be the venue of the ‘Eat Local Day’ commodity fair being held tomorrow (May 30th) from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Over twenty restaurants from across the Federation will have booths set up to display and sell traditional dishes created entirely from locally grown ingredients.

Alistair ‘Al’ Edwards, St. Kitts Agriculture Officer Responsible for Marketing told SKNVibes.com that ‘Eat Local Day’ is one of several events intended to be a “ramp-up” and create buzz around the September 12th-14th Agricultural Exhibition, to be held at Warner Park under the theme ‘Agriculture! 25 years of production; Agriculture! Food basket for national sustainability’.

“We hope ‘Eat Local Day’ will give people a greater appreciation for what is grown locally and also encourage them to eat healthier by buying local goods,” he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture has put a call out to all people residing in St. Kitts & Nevis to eat at least one meal prepared entirely from locally produced goods this Friday, May 30th in celebration of ‘Eat Local Day.’ ~~Adz:Right~~

“We want the public to come together on this day and demonstrate that St. Kitts & Nevis can feed itself. This will be a first step forward in fighting the rising cost of food around the world,” said Hon. Cedric Liburd, St. Kitts Minister with responsibility for Agriculture, at a May 27th ceremony held for ex-sugar workers who had received training in agriculture.

With the Nevis Minister responsible for Health, Hon. Hensley Daniel, declaring in April that the country is importing as much as “98% of its food consumed”, the Ministries of Agriculture on both islands have made it clear that the time has come to become self-sufficient.

He also explained that locally grown foods are not only cheaper and have a longer shelf life than their imported counterparts, they are also better for persons’ health.

“For example, a tomato that is harvested locally is allowed to ripen on the vine and goes to the market mere hours after being picked, ensuring its freshness. Imported tomatoes are picked before they are ripe and then are given all sorts of chemical treatments to ripen and preserve them during shipping.

“This means that an imported tomato has been off the vine for 3-4 weeks before it reaches the market where the consumer buys it, so you can see why a local fruit will stay fresher longer,” Edwards clarified.

Additionally, amongst the many events planned in preparation for the Agricultural Exhibition the Ministry of Agriculture has a Nevis Fruit Festival in its plans for June and a St. Kitts Seafood Festival scheduled for July.