Miracles at Work in Community Pantries

Miracles at Work in

By Mr. Jerricho Reynaldo

Astricter quarantine protocol was the least the capital wanted, but with cases of COVID-19 infections on the rise, as well as the imminent threat of more virulent strains of the virus, there was no choice but to place Manila and its nearby provinces (the “Bubble) under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) once again. This meant shorter days, lesser movement, and the closure of certain industries and businesses which supported and fed thousands of families. The effects were felt across those cities and provinces affected, which included Makati, home to the country’s central business district.

Catering to the spiritual needs of the Makati CBD is the Parish of St. John Bosco which, throughout the pandemic, has seen its congregational attendance rise and fall, given the ever-changing number of attendees allowed during religious gatherings. Yet, throughout the lockdown of the past year (and counting), the parish remained resolved to attend to the poor of the community, having regularly organized social service efforts for the needs of the affected. Thus, when another ECQ loomed ahead, the community stood ready to extend a helping hand to its parishioners in need.

It was during ECQ in the middle of April that the country was swept by the “community pantry” movement, which started as a small food bank by entrepreneur Anna Patricia Non along Quezon City’s Maginhawa Street. Intended to support all sectors of the community, from vendors to vagrants, each pantry posits that a citizen who approaches might need something from what is offered, while also having something to give back. This is championed by the famous slogan which spread like wildfire: “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” (“Give according to your ability, take according to your need.”)

Within a few days from the first pantry in Maginhawa, similar efforts were being organized across the country, including a number within and beyond the territory of St. John Bosco Parish. Fr. Ronnie Urbano, SDB, its parish priest, saw the need to support the pantries, while keeping it an effort of, for, and by the community: “This is a movement by the people among neighbors. The Parish encourages parishioners to support the movement, by educating them to give and be responsible Christians for their ‘kapit-bahay.’ Should other people from other streets within the Parish wish to set up their own pantries, we continue to support them.”

Part of the Parish community is Brgy. Pio del Pilar, with its own share of community pantries, the first one having been set up along Taylo Street, followed by two more in J. Victor Street and E. Ramos Street. Extending support to these community and youth-led pantries is the Parish Youth Ministry, tirelessly sourcing, organizing, and distributing donations coming in from both benefactors of the Parish and those who drop them off on the pantry locations. On days when the pantries rise, the line of people eager to take part starts forming hours before they open, with distributions efficiently done within a short time.

“Based on our experience, the people would start falling in line as early as 10:00 am in the morning,” says Lorenzo De Castro of the Parish Youth Ministry. “By then, if we would already see a number falling in line, we will already begin distributing goods, to ensure that none of them would experience any health related problems.” He adds that the pantries usually last from 30 minutes to an hour per day, serving an estimated 90-150 poor people from the vicinity.

Meanwhile, some Parish volunteers have chosen to support, and even organize, pantries in their own communities, which are no longer part of the Parish territory. Inspired by the spirit of bayanihan, these volunteers took it upon themselves to breed generosity among their own neighbors. One of these is Michael Beltrano, coordinator of the Parish Committee on Health, Safety, and Environment, who with his family set up a community pantry in his own Barangay Bangkal.

“It was the initiative of our family to set up a pantry. During the pandemic, a lot of families were affected and

Community Pantries

a lot lost their jobs, unable to provide the daily needs of their families. Ever since, our family would always help other people in diff erent ways and we found this an opportunity to share our blessings. Because of this initiative, people and businesses nearby our place also contributed in our pantry, which made us really happy. For almost two weeks, we would receive boxes and boxes of donations. This shows that a lot of people are really generous, someone just have to start and infl uence them to do so.”

However, noble and inspiring these eff orts may be, setting up these pantries would come with its own sets of challenges. According to Lorenzo, one of the fi rst challenges organizers encountered even at the planning stage was fear, because of news reports of pantry organizers being “red-tagged.” “Community pantries were being forced to shut operations down because of threats being delivered to the organizers,” he says. The continuing rise of COVID-19 cases also remains a valid concern for organizers, with many having second thoughts about opening their own pantries in Pio.

“Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” Still, persistence and the will to help keeps these pantries afl oat. And while quarantine restrictions have been eased a little in the Bubble, the ever-present challenge that matters is that of keeping people alive, by way of both food and protection from disease. “It is challenging yet fulfi lling. We have to ensure that we are following the safety (“Give according to your protocols, because it is expected that a lot people will go to the pantry. Despite that, giving away the goods that we have to the ability, take according people, and seeing them smile afterwards, really do make our hearts melt, motivating us to your need.”) to help even more,” says Michael. Lorenzo, on the other hand, is driven by the Rector Major’s Strenna for 2021 - Moved by Hope. “As Bosconians, in this time of trial, crisis and darkness in our society, we should be bearers of light and hope to others, especially the least, the lost, the last, and the forgotten, which is our poor brothers and sisters. To simply put it, we answer fear with hope, and so far through God’s grace and the generosity of other people, we continue to serve many people that have been greatly aff ected by this pandemic.” The community pantry phenomenon may be likened to the episode of Jesus’ life when he multiplied loaves and fi sh to feed the multitude gathered before him. What many do not know is that St. John Bosco, in his famous Miracolo delle Castagne, had a similar entry, having distributed roasted chestnuts meant for thirty to dozens upon dozens of children. It is after this event that people started to openly call him a saint. We, on the other hand, though not saints capable of multiplying chestnuts or loaves or fi sh, are all being called to holiness, to spread the joy of kindness and generosity however way we can. And in the end, the stories and the phenomenon are a lesson that God always provides, the community pantry being God’s way of telling us that miracles are at work in our lives.

ST. DOMINIC SAVIO PARISH

By Ms. Gay Castañeda

Mandaluyong City, the Philippines, 30 April-

The St. Dominic Savio Parish, Mandaluyong City launched its own version of community pantry last April 27 (fi rst day of Novena of St. Dominic). A community pantry is a free service that provides food directly to the members of a community, suff ering from food scarcity due to the pandemic. The supplies are pooled in by any member of the community, left in the pantry for anyone to benefi t from. The idea behind it is that people could take as much as they need and donate whatever they can. This eff ort is spearheaded by Fr. Eduardo “Duds” Hila, SDB, our parish priest. The project is a collaborative eff ort of the 17 mandated organizations of the parish, local government units (LGUs), and private individuals of the parish. A bottom-up approach is initiated by the organizers where diff erent organizations help in the entire process from asking for donations, packing, manning the pantry, inventory, and educating the people about the value of this project. The local offi cials are present to monitor the proper health protocol and social distancing for those people who will avail themselves of free essential goods. This time of pandemic when hunger is most visible caused a lot of worries, fear, and hopelessness among its parishioners and the parish would like to respond by showing more compassion, more kindness, more humility. The Savio community pantry shows a strong message of “ God’s love in action” “Loving my neighbor” where people who have more share their blessings and those who are in need only get what they need. Sustainability is a great challenge for the volunteers, but they believe in the kindness and generosity of individuals and families. They encourage the residents of the six barangays to share what they have and put them in the pantry station of the parish. Kindness is contagious, the essence of the community pantry of sharing will ripple down to the goodness of each individual, and the bayanihan (community spirit) spirit among Filipinos will prevail. We receive a lot of support from our parish priest and from other priests of the community. We thought our food supply would run out, but there was always something coming. We know that St. Dominic Savio continues to guide us in this time of need.