As lockdowns are still in place due to the rising daily count of COVID-19 cases, the struggle to put food on the table has been a struggle for many whose livelihoods are compromised.
But one woman’s idea to set up a bamboo cart pantry beside a tree in Maginhawa, Quezon City and fill it with goods has proven that through crisis, we can turn to each other for help. And less than a week since it started, the pantry has already inspired people in several cities across the Philippines to set up their own.
It’s no wonder that the idea behind the humble Maginhawa Community Pantry, which has just started on 14th April through the initiative of 26-year-old furniture business owner Ana Patricia Non, has been lauded as a “good virus” across the country by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David via Onenews.ph.
Born out of Non’s concern for families who are having a hard time making ends meet under quarantine restrictions, the pantry is a mutual aid initiative sustained by locals where anyone can donate basic goods – from canned goods to vegetables – and get what he or she needs in return. It goes by through the slogan “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan (Give whatever you can, take only what you need.)”
The project, which has already helped folks such as tricycle drivers and even encouraged donations from farmers, has since become an inspiration to various communities within Metro Manila and even as far as Boracay.
Stand with the Poor Community Pantry at Brgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City
Image credit: Stand With The Poor Relief Drive and Operations
At Brgy. Holy Spirit in Quezon City, for example, organization Kadamay has established a pantry they named as “Stand with the Poor Community Pantry.” They also organize food sharing, and as of writing, they are serving Vegan Ginataang Roasted Monggo.
Diocese Kalookan’s pantry at San Roque Cathedral
Image credit: @cbcpnews
Even the church has supported the initiative, as the pantry of Diocese Kalookan has been open since 18th April at the San Roque Cathedral. The city’s Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, who launched the pantry, lauded the emergence of community pantries and called it “the clearest and most tangible signs of hope in the midst of the hopelessness brought about by this pandemic”.
Pantries in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya and San Fernando, La Union
Image credit: Bayombong Community Pantry, Nica Flores
Further up north, folks from Nueva Vizacaya and La Union have also set up their own. A group of graduating college students put one up across from Quaddro Cafe in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, while locals in San Fernando, La Union organized a pantry in front of the bubble tea shop King & Queen Tea.
Pantry in Bulabog, Balabag, Boracay
Image credit: Fritz Mendez
Behind Boracay’s white sand beaches, communities in the area have taken steps to help each other in need. In Bulabog, Balabag, Boracay, small restaurant owner Joana Rose Roman and her friends are one of the locals bringing the Maginhawa-inspired initiative to the touristic town.
As Roman told the Philippine Star, despite life’s hardships, we must still choose to help and believe that help will be given to those who are in need.
If you still don’t have a community pantry where you live, you don’t need a lot to set up in your barangay. Non-government organization Abolisyon has given us four easy tips.
First, ask your friends and family if they want to help – you can do this by tagging them on a Facebook group chat. Second, list down what you need – from the food to the furniture you’ll assemble in putting a pantry – on an Excel spreadsheet.
Image credit: @cbcpnews
Afterwards, find a location frequented by and accessible to many people. Then, set up your own pantry, add a sign, and let your fellow locals know about your pantry.
If there’s one thing we can learn from the community pantries popping up here and there lately, it’s that we don’t need to have so much to help others. Community pantries show us how we can help each other through small ways.
To know where you can donate and get goods in your community, contact your respective barangays or check out this map and database.
Also check out:
Cover image adapted from (clockwise from top left): Stand With The Poor Relief Drive and Operations, AP Non, @cbcpnews, Bayombong Community Pantry
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