Ahead of Upcoming Culinary Festival, USVI Spotlights Local Flavors and Products in St. Croix
ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (June 14, 2022) – The island of St. Croix celebrated its 50th annual Agriculture and Food Fair – known as AgFest – May 28th, ushering in new conversations about locally-produced food. The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is proud to host the largest agriculture festival in the Caribbean as St. Croix gears up for its next food festival, Taste of St. Croix, on June 23.
The USVI Department of Tourism is a proud sponsor of the annual AgFair event. Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte is excited about getting the message out there that the USVI is more than a beach destination. “People travel to experience something different, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, our cuisine is a pastiche of flavors and traditions that visitors won’t find anywhere else. Both the Agriculture and Food Fair alongside the upcoming Tastes of St. Croix put all of that at the forefront,” he said.
With local farmers and food producers at this year’s Agriculture and Food Fair, the USVI spotlights its traditional cuisine and sustainable practices to entice visitors with something unique and local. Upcycling seaweed for greener farming practices to help keep the moisture in roots is just one example of unique sustainable farming practices implemented in the USVI.
Commissioner of Agriculture Positive Nelson is also excited about getting the message out that the USVI is a place to experience local cuisine rooted in local farming. “Food is a component of national security,” he said, adding, “Caribbean cuisine reflects not just the people who have made the islands home, but the products that come from our earth. The Agriculture and Food Fair sets the stage for Tastes of St. Croix to showcase how savoir faire and geography collide in exciting ways to produce the USVI’s cuisine.”
Issues like new processing centers, government policy, acquiring workers on farms are among the challenges that the USVI is looking to tackle with conversations started at AgFest. Questions about supply and food issues aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic have reignited exciting efforts for food security and sustainability in the USVI that will manifest on the plates and experiences of visitors to the destination.
The Agriculture and Food Fair is just one step in the process. It highlighted local foods, drinks, candy, baked goods and ice cream created in the USVI. For example, Armstrong’s Homemade Ice Cream has been made the same way, on this Island, for over 100 years. Showcasing the farming and food on the three islands of the USVI is a way to bolster the destination’s reinvigorated agrotourism efforts.
Visit here for more information on the U.S. Virgin Islands and visit the festival page here. Also look ahead to Taste of St. Croix happening June 23.
About the U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands are an official U.S. territory in the Caribbean that consist of three individual islands – St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas. Perfect for leisure or business travel, the U.S. Virgin Islands are rich with culture, history, surrounded by breathtaking beaches. When traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. citizens can enjoy all the conveniences of domestic travel as no passport is required for U.S. citizens arriving from Puerto Rico or the United States. Entry requirements for non-U.S. citizens are equivalent to entering the United States from any international country. Upon departure, a passport is required for non U.S. citizens. For more information about the United States Virgin Islands, go to VisitUSVI.com, follow us on Instagram (@visitusvi) and Twitter (@usvitourism), and become a fan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/VisitUSVI).