MORE than 80 families in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City have benefited from the community pantry set up by a group of college students from the University of the Philippines Cebu.
Janneloise Baylon, one of the founders of the Sugbo community pantry, told SunStar Cebu they were inspired by the Maginhawa community pantry in Quezon City to help those affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Baylon said they were grateful to everyone who made their initiative a success.
So far, they’ve received donations of mostly dry goods, she said.
The Sugbo community pantry is located at the back gate of the Colegio de la Immaculada Concepcion Mandaue.
Baylon thanked the school for allowing them to use the space and for donating vegetables it picked from its own garden.
When they first opened on Thursday, April 22, 2021, Baylon said they ran out of supplies in just 30 minutes.
She said their biggest challenge is how to make their community pantry sustainable.
Ideally, the pantry can be left unattended and people only take what they need. They currently man it so supplies last and more people can avail themselves of what’s in offer.
Baylon said those who want to donate cash or in kind can visit their official Facebook (FB) page Sugbo community pantry for details.
For transparency, the group posted the financial liquidation of donations on its FB page.
From April 21 to April 24, the group received P18,974 and spent P18,964 to purchase 60 kilos of assorted vegetables, three sacks of rice, 320 canned goods and 13 trays of eggs.
Baylon said Barangay Tipolo deployed tanods to ensure that minimum health standards for Covid-19 like social distancing are observed at the site. (KFD)