The playfield at the Longville Park Community Centre was on Saturday transformed into a busy shopping arena with over 50 booths occupied by small farmers and business persons who took their wares to the residents.
The event which saw ground provision, juices, vegetable Seasonings, Chicken Meat, Pastry and other products being sold at ‘reasonable prices’ to the residents enjoyed big support.
Baldvin McKenzie, Clarendon Parish Manager at the Social Development Commission – the agency behind its thrust said they have been hosting several such farmers markets in the parish with Longville being one of the biggest.
Two Fridays ago one was held at Denbigh Showground and prior to that the SDC hosted three others in Spalding, Mineral Heights and Lionel Town with over $3 million being spent overall. The residents in these Communities are requesting a repeat of this event.
“The residents in Longville embraced it and in fact they are now asking for a regular market to be set up in the community,” said McKenzie of the community which houses close to 15,000 residents.
McKenzie informed the Gleaner that the SDC is now conducting a survey to get feedback from residents, farmers and vendors regarding the sustainability of this event in the community. Currently, residents are forced to go to May Pen or Old Harbour to get their fresh fruits, vegetables and ground provisions.
Vice President of the Longville Park Community Development Committee, Oneil Hamilton told the Gleaner that the residents were very pleased and expressed pride in the professional way the Farmers Market and Business Fair was held.
“It was a joy to see shoppers greeted with hand sanitizers and how the tens were all positioned to maintain social distancing. This demonstrated the importance of team work, networking and collaboration,” said Hamilton.
He also commended the SDC team both at the Parish and the National level for their hard work before and during the implementation of the event.
Hamilton also highlighted the CDC contribution as members of the executive contributed towards hiring security and as well as volunteering on the day.
