Pink Gin Beach, Grenada– Sandals Grenada has been officially recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a highly valuable industry partner that supports local Root Crop farmers.

The commendation was given at the official opening ceremony of the Grenada Root Crop Festival on Friday March 23rd, 2018 at Pedestrian Plaza in the capital city, St. George’s.

At the ceremony Dr. Bowen Louison, Chief Livestock and Veterinary Officer, encouraged the general public to “Get back to our roots for sustainable health and economic benefits.”  Similarly Mr. Ruel Edwards, CEO of the Marketing and National Importing Board, noted that Grenada’s root crop production has doubled in the last 3 years, finally meeting the local demand for most root crops.

Purchasing Manager for Sandals La Source Grenada Mikhail Joseph, accepted the award on behalf of the resort. He spoke of the importance of Sandals partnering with local suppliers, “Locally sourced produce will always be preferred, as they are fresh and tasty. Although the resort’s menus do not prominently feature local root crops, we still manage to serve a considerable quantity weekly to our guests and to our nearly 500 team members at our staff restaurant. Aside from root crops, we purchase local lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, watermelons, cantaloupes, eggs, chicken, fish, bread… you name it! Pretty much anything that we can source locally of good quality, in a consistent manner, we are willing to purchase locally.”

General Manager of Sandals Grenada, Peter Fraser, is hopeful to further develop and strengthen linkages in the tourism sector; “As an all-inclusive resort with a 257 room count, our consumption is high. We mean business, big business. With these acknowledgements from the Ministry of Agriculture, we hope more farmers and local suppliers in general will see the opportunities within the tourism industry and rise to the occasion to form greater linkages across industries for all of us to prosper together.”