The UVI Cooperative Extension Service begins its World Food Day activities on Friday, Oct. 16, with the “Hunger Banquet” at the Great Hall on the grounds of the University of the Virgin Islands’ Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix.
This activity is open to 5th through 8th graders, representatives from the VI Department of Education, and other community leaders. These groups will experience the challenges of poverty and world hunger first hand.
The activities continue noon until 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. While admission is free, visitors are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the day's food drive. All food collected is donated to local food banks.
Activities on Sunday Oct. 18, include a formal outdoor ceremony, food vendors’ court, farmers’ market, workshops, demonstrations, entertainment, and free vegetable seedlings. Each year, three agricultural products are highlighted. This year’s selections are okra, soursop, and goat. There will also be a World Food Day 4-H Youth “Super Chef” Competition, which is open to all students in junior and senior high schools.
There will also be an open Soursop “Blast” Competition for the public.
All activities take place on the UVI Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. World Food Day is sponsored by UVI’s Cooperative Extension Service, the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station and the V.I. Department of Agriculture. For more information, call Clarice Clarke at (340) 692-4060.