On Monday November 6, 2023, the Department of Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA), an executing department within the ministry of VSA in collaboration with the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), awarded grow bags, soil and a variety of seeds to 25 persons in commemoration of World Food Day.
Grow bags are lightweight bags, made from a sturdy environmentally friendly and breathable
fabric and are ideal for planting fruits, leafy vegetables or herbs says Community
Development Officer, Mr. Riegnald Arrindell.
CDFHA’s theme for World Food Day “Food Security Starts with Me emerged after careful
observation of the effects of extreme weather patterns on food production, the rising cost of
imported food and the growing demand for food assistance around the world and the island.
Notwithstanding that, it also presented the ideal opportunity to remind the population of its
individual & collective responsibility to combat hunger and overcome food insecurity by
establishing or expanding a food garden to supplement one’s diet.
Furthermore, this year’s World Food Day initiative follows several successful interventions,
implemented by CDFHA, such as the Backyard Gardening Program, the Agroecology
program in collaboration with Spaceless Gardens and “Cooking on a Shoestring budget”
cooking demonstration to name a few.
Secretary of the Adventist Development Relief Agency, Ms. Jacqueline Barry, said, “This
initiative is something that couldn’t have come at a better time, and I applaud the Ministry of
VSA for this. There are so many ways these recipients can benefit from this project namely:
health wise (they will consume organic produce) economically (they can save a couple of
dollars here and there. It will also enable them to get some much-needed exercise while they
tend to their plants and last but not least, feeling the joy that comes with planting and
eventually reaping their harvest”
In addition, CDFHA will maintain regular contact with the recipients on a quarterly basis
during 2024 to monitor the progress achieved thus far and provide assistance if and when
needed.
CDFHA encouraged the attendees and wishes to remind the general public “not to wait until
another natural hazard, or even worse, to recognize the significance of gardening and
agriculture. The BEST time to plant food was TEN years ago! The second-best time to grow
your food is RIGHT NOW!”
CDFHA values the cooperative relationship with its social partners and is extremely grateful
to the following agencies that supported the initiative in one way or the other namely, the
Department of Economic Affairs, Spaceless Gardens, Mr. Denicio Wyatt, The Adventist
Development and Relief Agency (A.D.R.A.) Ms. Jacqueline Barry, Leaders for Change, the
United Haitian Council, and the Helping Hands Foundation.
World Food Day came into existence on October 16, 1945, at the Founding of the United
Nations Food & Agriculture Organization. It is primarily concerned with raising awareness,
promoting policies, programs and collective action to address global hunger, eliminate food
waste, malnutrition, and food insecurity.