By Damion Mitchell, Farmers Weekly Co-ordinator 
4-H clubbites observe as Viviene Tomlin, leader of the Snowdon All-Age School 4-H club, removes the cover from her dish of chicken-ham for sampling at last Saturday's Manchester 4-H Clubs' Food Fair at the Manchester High School in Mandeville. - Damion Mitchell Photo
HUNDREDS OF patrons turned out at the Manchester High School in Mandeville last Saturday for the Manchester 4-H Clubs' second food fair, which showcased some 300 local dishes.
"It is a continuation of our drive to promote 'eat Jamaican' through the displaying of a variety of products that can be made from our local produce," said Ron Blake, field services co-ordinator of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Central Region.
He said that the fair dubbed, 'Food for Health the 4-H Way', was also part of an initiative to raise funds to provide training, among other things, for members of the organisation.
Lenworth Fulton, executive director of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, said that while the fair endorsed the recently-launched Jamaica Agricultural Society's 'Eat Jamaican' campaign, there should have been more raw products on display to bring greater levels of awareness and appreciation for cultivating local produce.
PROMOTE LOCAL PRODUCE
Only recently, the Manchester 4-H Clubs launched a vegetable gardening programme in collaboration with Agro Grace Ltd. to promote the cultivation of more local produce in 30 selected schools and to highlight proper agronomic practices in vegetable farming.
Among the items on display at the fair were yampies, tomato punch, chicken-ham, sweet
potato casserole and pastries.
Joleen Tomlinson, student at the Manchester High School, said that the fair also provided an opportunity for students to sharpen their home economic skills which, she said, was integral if persons were to develop new ways of using local products and thereby support the agricultural sector.
Viviene Tomlin, leader of the Snowdon All-Age School, said that with the threats of globalisation, activities such as food fairs were very appropriate. "Events like these help the children to experience some of what we can produce and it helps them to realise that we do not have to depend so much on food from foreign countries," she said.
