I am sure by the time you are reading this, you have heard of the Community Pantry rippling continuously and popping up in various places in Metro Manila and in other provinces in the Philippines. This effort, initiated by a concerned citizen, Ana Patricia Non, is not only about ‘charity’ providing food and other fresh produce from private individuals placed on a small bamboo cart in a sidewalk to be given free to those in need, but indeed a powerful idea that has emerged in this sweeping time of the pandemic that strongly promotes ‘mutual aid’ and epitomizes the Filipino “bayanihan” spirit. No wonder why in just four days since it opened in Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village, Diliman Quezon City, the Community Pantry had been replicated in various communities spreading rapidly following this simple yet advocating principle of “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan” (Give according to your capacity, take according to your need). From their private pantry to the Community Pantry, people drop off whatever food items they could share: from fresh eggs and vegetables to rice and corn, from noodles and canned goods to fresh fish and chicken! And immediately when this initiative became viral in social media over the weekend, we in the Adveniat House organized ourselves to visit the site and bring some food items (Thanks to Kaloob Development Foundation) to share in this common pantry and participate in the repacking and distribution for the community. Recalling the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, this miracle of the Community Pantry is indeed the Gospel made alive in this present time!
0 Comments