A three- day food festival dubbed: “Vittles 2015,” has opened in Accra to showcase the best eateries in the metropolis as well as the best foods they have on offer for individuals and families.
Half of the proceeds from attendance would go to support the Hunger Project in its activities towards poverty alleviation.
Mr Leroy Ankrah, Principal Consultant at Diffusion Limited, organisers of Vittles 2015 said the event also seeks to support others who would not be able to afford or have access to good food during the Christmas festive season by supporting a charity in the area of food.
He explained that the Hunger Project Ghana was selected as a partner because of its approach to handling hunger as an aspect of poverty alleviation, with broad projects across the country.
He said the event is expected to record about 5000 visitors over the period, and half of the gate proceeds would be donated to the hunger project.
He said the event is planned as an annual event and expressed the hope that subsequent ones would be bigger and successful.
“This maiden one will give people the opportunity to see the different people or vendors around, the different kinds of food they serve and hopefully continue to patronise them after the event.”
Activities over the period include cooking competitions where the winner gets a month internship with the African Regent Hotel, happiness fiesta on Friday night with DJ Armani, food challenges, a talent show, beer gardens and other fun activities.
Mr Samuel Erasmus Adjei, Country Director of the Hunger Project Ghana said the proceeds from the event would go into providing inputs and technical support for rural people in agriculture.
“We believe that it is better to teach people to fish rather that providing fish for them and so we work among these rural areas, most of whom are basically farmers, supporting them by providing farming inputs and teaching them simple agronomic practices to increase their food production,” he stated.
The project also teaches the farmers how to store food for use in times of scarcity and to increase the value of their produce so they could earn enough take care of their households.
Mr Adjei said less than 24 per cent of Ghana’s population fall in the poverty bracket with a larger population in the northern part of the country.
He said hunger is not just about the availability of food but also the quality of the food in terms of nutrition, especially for children under five and pregnant mothers.
He explained that hunger is at the core of poverty, which manifests in different ways including lack of food, bad health, and lack of money, among other things.
“We say a hungry man is an angry man. Hunger is at the core of poverty, if you get food and water, you can survive, it will improve your health and other areas of your life,” he stated.
He added that since about 60 per cent of the population are farmers, increased incomes from farming would help them to educate their children and thus contribute to alleviate poverty.
The Hunger project works in about 24 districts within the country, supporting about 350,000 people in about 550 communities in the various rural areas.
The Vittle Food fair would run from Friday, December 18 to Sunday December 20, at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park from 12:00 noon each day.
<<Print>>