I was on a job yesterday, and a client of my client, with dreadlocks was purchasing products for his business. He road a bicycle and spoke with a jamaican accent. He spent his cash to pay for the products used for his business.

Question would be, does he have a business licence to start with, second would be does he have a licence to sell food/drink, as basically they sell their home made juice. I know we really dont have any active Health Dept here, maybe that is the real issue with street vendors, since too many of them are selling food or drinks.

I mean only a fool would purchase something to put in their body off the side of the street, especially not knowing whether someone doesnt have any training in proper food or drink preperation .. and i Imagine to have that knowledge there must be some licensing and training required by the health dept??

So the follow up question would be, do you need a license or prep training to sell food/drinks, on the street or not ... in the Bahamas? Dont get me wrong Ive bought those 99cents breakfasts in the past out the back of trucks, but that was a long time ago (10 years or so), and a truck is different than someone selling it from their bicycle. Besides I basically got sick every time i ate them, and even still do when i eat from the local well known bahamian restaurants ... I imagine they dont have many health dept visits either!!!

Rory

Excellent Points @ Rory! @ Mr Eneas I'm still not satisfied with your answer. ps. I've bought stuff from your farm on Millars Road before & I thought the price was extremely high,plus seeing that I drove all the way from out East.A word of advice (I can only speak for myself) While I would much prefer to spend my hard earned dollars with people like yourself there is no economic benefit in it for me to drive past Solomons (@ these outrageous gas prices) just to support you if the price differences are not significant.

Excellent Points @ Rory! @ Mr Eneas I'm still not satisfied with your answer. ps. I've bought stuff from your farm on Millars Road before & I thought the price was extremely high,plus seeing that I drove all the way from out East.A word of advice (I can only speak for myself) While I would much prefer to spend my hard earned dollars with people like yourself there is no economic benefit in it for me to drive past Solomons (@ these outrageous gas prices) just to support you if the price differences are not significant.

powerful fact!

I mean only a fool would purchase something to put in their body off the side of the street, especially not knowing whether someone doesnt have any training in proper food or drink preperation .. and i Imagine to have that knowledge there must be some licensing and training required by the health dept??
I would agree with you as far as prepared foods - one is taking a chance. (Mind you, one is often taking a chance at a "proper" Restaurant too!) But as far as fruit and Veg is concerned I think one is fairly safe. Check it to see if it looks and feels OK - no bruises or cuts, take it home and give it a good wash. :cheers:

suppose they spilt bleach on them ? Or dropped them in a nasty puddle in the street ..? I wouldnt touch anything on the side of the street :fly:

And you're right about restaurants too, especially in Nassau with our non existant health dept. Same can be said with all of our dirty food stores.

suppose they spilt bleach on them ? Or dropped them in a nasty puddle in the street ..? I wouldnt touch anything on the side of the street :fly:

And you're right about restaurants too, especially in Nassau with our non existant health dept. Same can be said with all of our dirty food stores.

Do you think that fruit, etc. is handled more carefully in stores?

Do you think that fruit, etc. is handled more carefully in stores?


i drink fruit juice, i stay away from fruit, i think you know my stance on food stores and what happens in them . .. but its still not the side of a dirty nassau street ..

WHAT IS YOUR PERCEPTION OF THE STRRET VENDOR AFTER CONSIDERING SOME OF THE POINTS MENTIONED IN MY PIECE?
Do you think that this type of operator plays a signifant role in the commercial life of NASSAU?

WHAT IS YOUR PERCEPTION OF THE STRRET VENDOR AFTER CONSIDERING SOME OF THE POINTS MENTIONED IN MY PIECE?
Do you think that this type of operator plays a signifant role in the commercial life of NASSAU?

I would not go as far as to say, "significant" but it does play a role.

I would say the crab people play a more significant role in our cultural development in contrasts to the fruit vendors. If the crab people go missing, it just wouldn't be the same; whereas if the fruit vendors go missing, I would just go to the back of my yard and pick my own fruits.

This is all well & good put in your next piece please inform us why the price of a locally grown watermelon is so high.

:hammer:
1 papaya cost $9.00BSD, depending per pound.........WOW*
Why are all the " fruits " here so expensive?
I haven't seen any local grown products on the island, only in the super markets.........and those are imported from other Countries...........

My family once owned a fruit and vegetable store in Grand Bahama, we tried to patronized the local farmers in the islands, especially Eleuthera, but the buying price was just to high.

When we checked on local watermelons and checked on the imported one's with the 200% duty. I was still cheaper to import than buy local. The same for local tomatoes, pineapple, oranges, bell pepper, grapefruit and bananas.

And in many instances, the quality was just not there. Not only was the fruit itself inferior, but apparently a lot of the farmers lacked the skill of harvesting and proper packaging to prevent bruising.

I remember the local farmers crying about the amount of bananas they had and no one was buying, so the government put a ban on bananas. We had to purchase local. The quality was just not good and of course the price was high.

My family once owned a fruit and vegetable store in Grand Bahama, we tried to patronized the local farmers in the islands, especially Eleuthera, but the buying price was just to high.
When we checked on local watermelons and checked on the imported one's with the 200% duty. I was still cheaper to import than buy local. The same for local tomatoes, pineapple, oranges, bell pepper, grapefruit and bananas.
And in many instances, the quality was just not there. Not only was the fruit itself inferior, but apparently a lot of the farmers lacked the skill of harvesting and proper packaging to prevent bruising.
I remember the local farmers crying about the amount of bananas they had and no one was buying, so the government put a ban on bananas. We had to purchase local. The quality was just not good and of course the price was high.


What a shame.

It seems the cost of labour and a lack of farming skill priced those farmers right out of the market.

Are you referring to the Island Market? I LOVED that store as a kid! Remember the meat cutters and the fresh sliced salami and bologna??? HEAVEN!

The produce exchange in North Andros has a dump for fruits and vegetables that has not pass inspection, near the exchange. It is very normal to see people salvaging stuff and taking them to Nassau. You will see some of these same people on the side of the road in Nassau selling these stuff.

They make good money as a lot of the goods are simple bruised or has a blemish.

Plus there is a quota of produce that each farmer can sell to the exchange.
After they have met that quota, they must find a way to sell the reminder of the goods themselves. Sometimes they end up giving and throwing away stuff if they can't get it sold.

Rory you so crazy..... i want 2 see you with your little table in the front of your water front property selling guineps:jawdroop: