Bohol opens community pantry, encourages others to donate to help in need

Alona Community Pantry by Plastic Free Bohol.

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Plastic Free Bohol is not just raising awareness about plastic pollution in Bohol but is now helping others through their Alona Community Pantry.

For their fifth anniversary celebration, instead of doing their regular food bag distributions, Jammy Ungab, founder of Plastic Free Bohol, decided to do the community pantry instead, following the Maginhawa Community Pantry in Quezon City.

“We actually have a food relief program that we started last year.  Each bag contains 5 kgs of rice and some vegetables that could last a few days. Our fund is already running dry, and instead of doing a one-time (and last) food relief drive, I decided to open a community pantry to stretch the remaining money to one week. And hoping we can sustain the pantry much longer,” said Ungab.

They were able to maintain their food bag distributions for 26 weeks now through donations from their friends and partners.

“ We decided to do this in our area because Panglao is one of the municipalities badly affected by the pandemic. A lot of people rely on tourism to survive (especially my neighbors). And because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people lost their jobs and are still unemployed up to now,” she added.

And to make this community pantry last,  Ungab is urging others to help through donations.

“They can drop it off at the pantry on Bohol Diver’s Street in Danao, Panglao. Our humble pantry is near Bongo Store/Lola Restaurant,” Ungab said.

She encourages those who will donate to donate fruits and vegetables, eggs, and rice.

The Alona Community Pantry is open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The more donations, the more people we all can help. /bmjo