Food sourced from Luzon farmers for livelihood support
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – Community and Family Services International (CFSI) has completed the distribution of food packages to 1,000 disadvantaged households or at least 5,000 persons as part of its broader Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) response operations.
The distribution ran in five waves scheduled every Saturday starting from 18 April to 16 May 2020. A total of 14 barangays were served, prioritizing households with vulnerable members which include persons with disability, persons living with HIV, and the elderly.
CFSI Community Support Workers prepare the food packs to be distributed to Pasay City households.
The food packages contained vegetables, some with fruits and root crops, sourced from farmers in different parts of Luzon to support their livelihood amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These came from the Seeds and Fruits Multi-Purpose Cooperative from Benguet Province, farmers from Nueva Ecija Province, farmers from Camarines Norte, and from the Dumagats living near the Daraitan and Kaliwa Rivers in Rizal and Quezon provinces. The collaborations were made through the help of the mountaineering group Random Act of Kindness (RAK), Tanging Yaman Foundation, and Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ.
Various corporate partners have also contributed to the effort. CDO Foodsphere provided boxes of canned goods at discounted prices, while Philinsure and Genfinity Philippines gave donations that were used to cover some costs of the items.
Assorted vegetables were included in the food pack for healthier options, which was sourced from farmers in different parts of Luzon.
CFSI Board Member Atty. Eileen Cordero-Batac and husband Lanny Batac helped in mobilizing funds and sourcing of food items. Other CFSI board members, staff members, and anonymous donors also contributed to the initiative. In addition, 21 volunteer Community Support Workers (CSWs) facilitated the distribution in the communities. The CSWs received food packages, face masks, and isopropyl alcohol to make sure they were properly protected during the distribution.
“I am happy that we were able to reach 1,000 households despite the health risk. The CSWs are thankful to be part of this initiative. Even if it’s tiring for them, they said that they feel relieved every time they see smiles and hear ‘thank yous’ from the beneficiaries,” said Genesis Faderogao, the Project Coordinator of CFSI’s Park Avenue Initiative (PAI) in Pasay City.
Faderogao added that the Health Emergency Response Team of the visited barangays provided tricycles and push carts to transport the relief goods.
“It helped us bring the relief goods in the houses of the recipients, even in the narrowest streets,” she added.
Barangay Health Emergency Response Team provided tricycles to transport the relief goods to the barangays.
CFSI continues its COVID-19 response not only in Metro Manila but also in other parts of the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao.
On 30 January 2020, the Philippine government reported the first case of COVID-19 in the country. An Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was imposed on 16 March in the entire Luzon as a preventive measure on the spread of the disease. The community lockdown greatly affected the daily wage earners, especially with elderly and PWD family members, that led them to heavily depend on immediate food relief to survive during the crisis.
CFSI is operating in Pasay City since 2002 through PAI. It aims to address the impact of poverty through promoting and testing community-based initiatives in child protection, youth development, and opportunity-creation.
To know more about the PAI project, visit: https://cfsi.ph/park-avenue-initiative-pai-project-brief/
To help us respond to the COVID-19 Crisis, kindly visit https://cfsi.ph/appeal-for-donations-covid-19-crisis/. #