WHEN the pandemic hit his internet cafe and convenience store, an information technology (IT) professional pivoted his businesses to a homegrown health and wellness store to provide the needs of doctors, nurses and other health enthusiasts.
Neil Clyde Kho, owner of The Green Table, told SunStar Cebu that they lost everything at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We lost our livelihood and even my wife’s work. Surviving and reviving was easy for us since my wife and I were IT professionals. But what makes it challenging is keeping our employees with us—as they have less opportunities to find work, especially during this pandemic,” he said.
With that in mind, Kho began building a network of farmers, habal-habal drivers and his remaining staff to supply mothers, doctors, nurses, IT- business process management workers and those who are sick and in need of healthy food with fresh and local produce.
One of Green Table’s bestsellers is its do-it-yourself smoothie kit.
Located on Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City, this new venture has given hope to Kho and his whole staff.
“We decided to journey with our staff to find opportunities which can benefit all of us. And so, we decided to serve our community by delivering fresh fruits and vegetables for smoothies and other products,” he said.
During the lockdown, Kho said they were among the few companies to serve hundreds of clients a day with a supply of fruits and vegetables.
“This is since we already have business permits which helped us in our operations,” he said.
With all the blessings they received, Kho said they also shared it with the community.
“We hired more riders and added more staff to support our operations. But still, we only have enough to feed our family. We continue to find opportunity by collaborating with people with the same purpose and mindset,” he said.
When they have extra supplies, Kho said they give them to their partner non-government organization to help families living at the Inayawan dumpsite.
“The Green Table Family would like to thank the communities who have been supportive of our vision to empower local farmers. We may have different kinds of lifestyle and beliefs, different problems and challenges, but we have the same vision to be a good individual to the community,” he said.