Theories that Were Proven and Debunked with the Rise of Community Pantries

The rise of the Community Pantry phenomena started with a small cart placed in Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. It was a brainchild of Ana Patricia Non, in coordination with farmers, vendors, and volunteers. Intended as a proactive action in addressing the hunger crisis exacerbated by the persisting Covid-19 pandemic, it became the subject of unwanted controversy when organizers were red-tagged. It is a good thing that this issue was quickly set aside for its absurdity.

And so the slogan “Magbigay ayon sa kakayanan, Kumuha batay sa pangangailangan” served as the guideline for all the community pantries that sprouted all over the country or variations of it. Some were more specific while others chose to be funny but direct. Regardless if Community Pantries are discontinued in the near future, many theories were either proven or debunked by its existence.

Proven Theories

  1. A simple idea can be accepted if it addresses a need.  We have seen how many proposals were floated by professionals, government agencies and personnel, and economic experts and yet were not practiced by the people. Those who set up the succeeding community pantries did not do so because they were directed to or forced to. The response of replicating the idea was spontaneous in the same manner that the donors gave and the recipients accepted.
  2. People will give if they believe it will reach the intended beneficiaries. Donors are essentially kind-hearted individuals and entities who are in the position to give. However, more are encouraged to give if they see who are actually benefitting from their kind deed. There is no better proof than the people lining up in Community Pantries to get what they need.
  3. Greed and Kindness are both not monopolized by any economic class. If there is any thing that Community Pantries have shown, it is the fact that greed and kindness cannot be attributed to a single economic class. We have seen people from all economic classes exhibit either extraordinary goodness or questionable behavior.

Debunked Theories

  1. The Filipino People have nothing left to give. Who would have thought that after all the tragedy brought upon us by the pandemic in the form of numerous unexpected deaths and sicknesses, closed businesses, lost jobs, and deep frustration with what is seen as inadequacy of government action, the Filipino people will still come out swinging by helping those in need. Some call it resilience but I think it’s best called Bayanihan. It is essentially about working together to achieve a common goal.
  2. Community Pantries are affiliated with insurgents and/or associated with evil. A government spokesman tagged the pantry organizers both as communists and Satan’s associates. It took a gag order from their own superior to stop these pronouncements. Eventually, community pantries were able to prove their worth and proceed as long as they observe standard health protocols.
  3. Only the rich can give and only the poor can receive. While it is true that most of the donors are big companies and well-off individuals, we have witnessed how even those considered economically poor are willing to give and actually donate what they can. Those who line up in Community Pantries cannot be all considered poor. Some are earning but are still food insecure brought about by the tremendous effect of the pandemic on job security and prices of commodities.

My Say

The first community pantry was born of an identified need to address food insecurity in the midst of the pandemic. The succeeding ones are affirmations of the relevance of the idea. How long these community pantries will continue, no one really knows. For now, it is serving its purpose of providing assistance to those in need but we definitely need a more permanent solution very soon.