It was all about food Sunday on the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix campus with the celebration of World Food Day that included music, competitions, education and vendors focused on sustenance and conservation.
Josephine A. Wilkes, right, with her friend Jahnet Phillips, sold potatoes, green onions, yellow squash, pineapple, tangelos and more Sunday. She said the island needs a juicing plant and spoilage from supermarkets should be donated for farmers to use as mulch.
Michael Austrie, Fiola Alexander, Donna Gonzalez and Olasee Davis from the School of Agriculture and the Agriculture Department gave away 800 planters with seedlings, including kale, bok choy, basil, okra and tomatoes. “Grow something for yourself,” Stanford Crossman, assistant director of the UVI Cooperative Extension Services, said.
The “Super Chefs” from Alfredo Andrews Elementary School prepared a meal of lamb burgers with plantains and okra chips, farm salad, soursop ice cream and soursop lime colada for the competition.
The 4-H senior team made soursop smoothies, lamb gallettes, lamb loins with spinach au gratin, and creme brulee with soursop gelee in 90 minutes for the Super Chef competition.
The 4-H junior team created soursop bush tea, okra hush puppies with remoulade sauce, lamb gumbo with jasmine rice and shortbread with soursop cream and sweet sugar to compete in the Super Chef competition.
Fiona Stokes and Carollyn Winrow judged soursop breads, desserts and beverages for the home cooks competition using the fruit.
Michael Jaffars and Melissa Carter of the V.I. Energy Office talked to the public about conservation, training and rebates. Carter later spoke about water use during an educational workshop. Other workshops focused on growing soursop, okra and annonas (sugar apples).
