You should always aim to choose local, organic produce over imported foods. Organic foods have greater nutritional benefit, such as antioxidants and vitamins, whereas produce reared in artificial environments often contain pesticides.
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Choose Local
While it is unlikely that Cayman will ever stop relying on imported food, the local agribusiness is flourishing. A wide variety of fresh produce can be bought at the Hamlin Stephenson Market at the Cricket Grounds next to the cricket pitch in George Town (Monday-Saturdays from 7.30am-6pm) and from the Camana Bay Farmers Market on Wednesdays. During high season the market, located on the Paseo, offers farm goods and artisanal goods by local artists and runs from 10am until 7pm. In summer the town’s harvest market, located under the solar array across from Jessie’s Juice Bar, offers farm-fresh goods from 10am to 4pm.
Also, Cayman Farm & Garden (Patrick Panton) sells a variety of fresh fruit, leafy greens, vegetables, fresh chicken, eggs and seafood from his farm in Bodden Town. He is always at the Farmer's Market on Saturdays but he also has a thriving business doing home deliveries. They can also be found at the Camana Bay Farmers Market. Email: patrick.caymanfarmandgarden@gmail.com and ask to be put on his mailing list, then when you are ready to order you email him on orders.caymanfarmandgarden@gmail.com. You can also call him on (345) 526 4231 or visit www.facebook.com/caymanfarmandgarden for more information.
Bluff Farms, located in Cayman Brac, provides the finest pedigree goat breeds, raised outdoors in the most ideal environment on the Bluff. Their lean and fresh meat is readily available to purchase at an affordable price at the farm in Cayman Brac and in Grand Cayman, for delivery/in-store pick up at 209 Cannon Place. Email: sales@blufffarms.com or call (345) 926 3665.
Grow Your Own Produce
Following the success of the green iguana cull, gardens Island-wide are flourishing as they are no longer losing flowers and foliage to these pests. There is a whole range of fruit and vegetables you can grow including tomatoes, leafy greens, herbs, eggplants, melons, bananas, mangoes and much more. The ideal growing season is November–April when it’s cooler and drier, however, you will need to water the plants regularly and look out for pests. You can pick up seeds or baby plants from any of the local nurseries, plus soil, organic pesticides and gardening tools. See here for a list of garden centres.
Shopping Green
When grocery shopping, make sure to buy the products with the least packaging, choose glass or other alternatives to plastic, and take canvas bags instead of paying 5¢ for a plastic bag. Alternatively, shop at Hurley’s where they have ditched single-use plastic bags altogether after discovering they were distributing 800,000 a year. They now offer reusable, recyclable and biodegradable paper bags in their place.
Most of the supermarkets sell organic food and some, like Kirk Market and Foster’s sell a wide selection of both locally grown and imported organic produce, as well as organic meats, frozen food, gluten-free and luxury food. On the drink-front, Flowers Bottled Water produces delicious, filtered, chlorine-free water that they sell in large 5-gallon bottles which you can buy in most petrol stations or have delivered directly to your home or office. You can further reduce your plastic pollution by installing a Koola bottle-less water cooler. It acts like a mini water purification plant, connecting to your building’s water supply and filtering out chlorine, lead, phosphates and bacteria.
For those who like to drink beer, White Tip Lager is a joint venture with the Department of Environment and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation with a portion of the profits being donated to shark conservation work in Cayman’s waters. Another local brewery, 19-81 Brewing Co., produces three quality craft beers as well as other limited-edition beers produced in collaboration with local farmers.
For more information on the Local and Speciality Beer, click here.