Delicious value added goodies were offered to potential buyers at the second annual Virgin Fresh Value Added Vendorama, a market day meant to promote locally produced value-added products and encourage the continued growth of local agriculture.
The event was hosted by the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture in partnership with local farmers and producers of value-added items. The market day was part of the department’s Virgin Fresh Marketing Campaign intended to support small local agribusinesses.
Mary Bertie, Agriculture’s administrative officer and the event’s organizer, said the market day is important because it educates the public on the variety of products that can be made from local goods.
The vendorama was held at Sanderilla Thomas Bungalow in the Rothschild Francis Market Square. Vendors sold jams, jellies, smoothies, pastries, bottled honey and sauces, freshly squeezed drinks, seasonings and an array of other items. 
A total of 22 vendors participated in the market day. Customers trickled in throughout the morning to take advantage of the local products and talk to the enthusiastic farmers and sellers.
Charles Leonard, farmer and three-time winner of the St. Thomas/St. John Agriculture Fair, said that eating locally is best thing you can do for your health. “Anything within a 25-mile radius of where you live is the best food you can eat,” he said. Your body is most compatible with food grown in your own environment, he explained.
Derick Hodge, a heavy equipment operator at Agriculture and a local farmer, agreed with the sentiment, adding that “value-added products extend the life of local produce” and can even enhance its nutritional benefits.
Hodge said that more than 150 people drifted in over the course of the morning. The event attracted locals and even a few tourists fascinated by the assortment of local goods. Events like this really help farmers to off-load surpluses of their produce, he said.
Some vendors were actually able to sell off their products and go home early. However, the consensus was that the turnout was mediocre at best. The event was meant to last from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. but by noon the flow of customer traffic had died down to a handful of people. Half the vendors had already packed up and left.
Charles Barry, a local beekeeper and farmer, said events like the market day aren’t enough to truly build the local agricultural industry. Farmers need a permanent location that is properly staffed and has refrigeration capabilities so that they can sell produce every day, he said.
“Suppose we got a building right next to this Market Square where farmers can store their produce,” Barry suggested. “We would always have a stream of people coming because they know where they can go to get what they want.”
