Virgin Islands to Observe World Food Day on Oct. 19
World Food Day activities will be held on the grounds of the
University of the Virgin Islands' St. Croix campus from noon to 6
p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. The public is invited to support junior
high and high school students as they compete in the first World
Food Day "Youth Super Chef" competition. Other activities will
include the distribution of free vegetable seedlings for use in
home gardens, a food vendors' court, a farmers' market, tours of
the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station field facilities, a hunger
banquet, a "House of CANs" competition, a petting zoo, music and
several workshops. This year, the workshops will focus on growing
sweet corn and sorrel, and raising rabbits. The first 30 persons to
sign-up and attend the workshops will receive free samples.
>All schools, youth groups and organizations are invited to
help fight hunger by taking part in the World Food Day Food Drive.
Donations will be given to local food banks and to the Haiti relief
effort. World Food Day brings attention to the plight of the
territory and the world's hungry and undernourished and provides an
opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex solutions to
reducing hunger. This year's theme is: "World Food Security: The
Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy." Rarely has World Food
Day assumed greater meaning than at this time, as food prices are
rapidly increasing locally and internationally. According to the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number
of undernourished people is currently estimated at more than 850
million. For the past 26 years, the University of the Virgin
Islands Cooperative Extension Service has taken the lead in
providing educational activities during the World Food Day to
encourage the planting of vegetables and other food crops, thus,
securing our own food security. World Food Day is observed
throughout the world on Oct. 16 each year. It commemorates the day
in 1945 when the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization
was formed. The day is used to raise awareness about those living
in hunger all over the world. World Food Day activities are
sponsored by UVI Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with
the V.I. Department of Agriculture and UVI's Agricultural
Experiment Station. For more information, call Clarice Clarke at
692-4060./import/sites/uvi/Pages/news/import/sites/uvi/Pages/news/Spotlight_News_Showa763.html
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