23-Apr-2021 – Bayanihan or unity is a best Filipino trait since then and Community pantry is an example of Bayanihan Trait. It has started in Maginhawa, Quezon city called Maginhawa Community Pantry. We could never go wrong in helping hand. The motto of this pantry is give only what you can and take only what you really need. The spirit of Christmas is all year round.
On a hot scorching Wednesday afternoon, Ana Patricia Non walked along the streets of Maginhawa to find a spot that is both accessible and able to withhold sizable foot traffic. Somewhere in front of a Romantic Baboy and Ministop, she approached the owners of the place where she used to buy vegetables and requested permission to use the space for a community pantry. When it was granted, she rushed home to collect her already-packed goods, called for a tricycle, and quickly made her way back. She set up a bamboo cart along Maginhawa Street and stocked it with rice, vegetables, milk, vitamins, face masks, canned goods, soap and other essentials.
Within 24 hours, Non’s post had gone viral across all social media platforms and hundreds of Filipinos were requesting for more information on how they could help further this initiative. To those beyond the radius of Maginhawa, Non urges starting a community pantry of their own. As of April 19, there is a growing list of 28 active community pantries across the Philippines, according to a Facebook post by Non — all inspired by the Maginhawa Community Pantry initiative. According to the organizers, the community pantry has helped 5,000 beneficiaries as of this writing. They also mentioned that donations have been "overflowing" and that they shared them to 15-20 other community pantries.
In Sampaloc, Manila, Toots Vergara and his wife Ana adopted Non’s pantry model. Riddled with doubt in the early stages of planning, they were worried about not having enough resources to sustain the community pantry. Merely a few hours after they were approached by a cohort of community members in P. Noval wanting to support what they had started. “We realized people were just waiting for a venue where they can help, however much they can,” he said.
"Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Duterte lauds the initiative to put up community pantries in the country and DILG Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the members of police not to interfere with pantries operations."
Many
organizers of community pantries were inspired by Ms. Non like in Bulacan, Cebu
and Cagayan De Oro. However, Community Pantries in Maginhawa and Cagayan De Oro
have been red-tagged and they were partially closed whether they have hidden
agenda or a part of communist group allegedly although they are just helping
out people to survive, just charity works. Now, They were back anew.
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