PHILIPSBURG:---- The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation helped to spread the word about the delight of healthy eating when it offered a range of vegetarian delicacies at its booth at the Roman Catholic Church Family Fun Day and Food Extravaganza held recently.
This was the first time that the St .Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation participated in the event. Commissioner Sandra Cheung said the foundation and its volunteers were extremely happy to have been of service at the event.
The Church sold a total of about 2,000 tickets for US $10 each for the event, which was held at the Roman Catholic Church in South Reward.
Tzu Chi had three different menu choices at its booth. The options included vegetarian Sushi, cassava cheese pasta, vegetable eggroll, vegan chicken sate, eggless cupcake and miracle juice made from beet, carrot, ginger and apple. The second vegan option was vegan lasagna, veggie croquette, vegetable fried rice, vegan spicy sate, eggless cupcake and fresh mango juice; while the third option consisted of vegan cheese baked potatoes, vegetable fried rice, vegan chicken sate, croquette, eggless cupcake and fresh juice.
Tzu Chi’s booth was very popular amongst patrons and its cuisine was sold out way before the event ended.
In addition to the St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation a number of other groups were present with food from their native countries including the Dominican Republic; Dominica; Mexico, Haiti; Suriname; Anguilla, Aruba, Jamaica, Guyana and St. Maarten.
Tzu Chi was said to be the only booth that offered varied vegetarian only delicacies and fresh natural local juices only.
Tzu Chi Volunteer Roger Yee-Fong, who participated in the event for the first time said for him the event had been a tremendous success not only because of the large number of participants, but more so by the many persons of different ethnicities who participated. “Very interesting was the fact that with many different distinct ethnicities come varied tastes, habits, smells, styles and even greetings. So here in St. Maarten, we are truly blessed to be able to experience this peaceful diversity,” he said in reflecting on the event.
“As a Tzu Chi Volunteer, I was indeed grateful for the opportunity that the Catholic Community would embrace the Tzu Chi Foundation's participation and the vegetarian food that was to be offered,” he added. “Our goal is to promote a healthier lifestyle by embracing a plant based diet. Many visitors could not believe the chicken sate, croquettes, spring rolls, baked potatoes, pasta and sushi were made from plant based-items because they taste no different.”
“As a Buddhist foundation in St. Maarten, we are grateful for the opportunity to help the Catholic Church and a chance to promote vegetarian and vegan food, and the most comfortable part is the feeling of no boundary of religion.”
Cheung thanked all volunteers for participating in the event and the Roman Catholic Church for accommodating the foundation at the event.