MAY PEN, CLARENDON:A number of dignitaries, among them May Pen Mayor Milton Brown; permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Donovan Stanberry; 4-H clubbites gathered to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs at the Mineral Heights Baptist Church last Sunday.

The 4-H clubs have been charged with the task of implementing over 900 school gardens over a three-year period. More than 370 are already running after only a year. The gardens are to function as a food source for school kitchens. Any surplus is to be sold in order to help offset overhead costs.

Stanberry said the country needed to move away from importing products it grew and that children had to be be taught differently. According to him, youngsters were too 'Americanised' in their eating habits. He said food security was more important than national security and that new technology, which includes setting up more greenhouses, was just one area that government was introducing.

On April 24, the 4-H clubs will host their national achievement expo at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon with the theme 'Youth Response to Food Security'.

There will be school garden displays, cooking competitions, educational displays, and healthy lifestyle activities. Children's tickets will cost $100 while adults will pay double.

- Angella Chin