Creative meals from locally grown ground provisions, vegetables and fruit are sure to be served at the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston this Christmas for its approximately 80 residents.
On Tuesday (December 20), farmers’ groups within the Kingston and St. Andrew branch of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) presented the facility with an abundance of produce, fresh from their farms.
The donation included bananas, plantains, pumpkins, avocadoes, sugarcane, scallion, thyme, grapefruits, oranges, jackfruit, rosemary, carrots, lemons, fever grass, limes, sorrel, and more.
Acting Parish Manager for Kingston and St. Andrew RADA, Errard Stephenson, explained that the gesture is usually an annual effort, but was halted due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pleased to see the initiative back in full swing, he told JIS News that “it’s what we do to ensure that nobody feels left out, especially at this time when it’s about family and the family unit”.
“[The residents] are not [able] to be in their personal homes, so the Maxfield Park Children’s Home is that to them, and we support that wholeheartedly. The farmers’ groups are willing and able, and it’s their donation to the Home,” he continued.
The crops were grown in the hilly areas of communities near the Blue Mountains with little or no use of pesticides. Some of the farmers’ groups involved include Mount Lebanon, St. Peter’s Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), St. Peter’s Coffee and Vegetable, Jack Allen, Content Gap JAS, Freetown, Gordon Town, and others.
Mr. Stephenson said it is hoped that the act of kindness shows Jamaicans “that we can donate local goods to our institutions, our homes and the less fortunate”.
Accepting the donation was the facility’s Manager, Renae Tuckett-Palmer, who was a picture of sheer joy.
Commenting on the donation, Mrs. Palmer outlined that the donation will result in “huge cost savings” for the Home, as the staff prepares to take on the “big cooking” at Christmas time.
In particular, she welcomed the tropical fruits, such as bananas, grapefruits, and oranges, as it is the flu season, when the children’s vitamin C intake and the boosting of their immune system are especially important.
Menus are already being planned from the different foods, Mrs. Palmer said, and the abundance of each item will inspire creativity.
Furthermore, she pointed out that the children will be able to bond and build relationships over some of the unique fruits they have been gifted. This they can do by showing each other how to peel and eat sugar cane “the right way,” she said.
“It’s more than just food; it’s an experience,” she noted, while pointing out that, “I am really excited. This gift means a lot to us… . It’s a generosity that speaks volumes.”
In addition to the farm goods, the farmers also donated toiletries, clothes and toys to the Home.
RADA Kingston and St. Andrew is also assisting the Maxfield Park Children’s Home with having a fully functional backyard garden where they can grow crops throughout the year. This is hoped to also inspire the practice of farming among staff and residents.
- JIS News
