LIST: Community pantries where you can donate goods, basic necessities

In the past week, Filipinos have been setting up their own makeshift pantries to help their respective communities get the goods they need while on quarantine.

This comes after Ana Patricia “Patreng” Non set up her own bamboo cart in Maginhawa, Quezon City, filled with basic necessities such as vegetables, rice, canned goods, face masks, and alcohol. The cart came with two small cardboard signs – one that read “Maginhawa Community Pantry,” and the other that outlined the pantry’s simple working principle: “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” (From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.)

LIST: Community pantries where you can donate goods, basic necessities

Non’s community pantry quickly became viral on social media and garnered significant media coverage. Residents from nearby areas flocked to the pantry over the weekend, and they received donations from farmers in places as far as Paniqui, Tarlac.

The project has since inspired other Filipinos to start similar initiatives in their areas to keep each other afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked what advice she could give to encourage others to set up their own pantries, Non emphasized such initiatives require a “community effort” and cannot be sustained by a single person alone.

“Kung buong community ang tutulong masu-sustain siya, hindi imposible…. Hangga’t may nangangailangan, hangga’t may nagbibigay rin,” Non said.

(If the whole community works together, it will be sustained. It’s not impossible. It will work as long as there are people in need and there are those willing to give.)

Here are a few other places where you can donate goods and basic necessities:

Luzon

Bicol

Cagayan Valley

Calabarzon

CAR

68 Evangelista Street, Leonila Hill, Baguio City

Central Luzon

Ilocos Region

Metro Manila

Mimaropa

Visayas

Central Visayas

Western Visayas

Mindanao

Northern Mindanao

Groups like the Among Us Relief Initiatives are supporting communities that would like to build their own community pantries in their areas. You may reach Fatsen Amano at 09173296743 or Shara Mae Landicho at 09195488500 for more information.

You may also check this story out for detailed instructions on how to start your own community pantry.

Feel free to share photos and videos of your pantries by filling up this form, and tag us at @MovePH and @rapplerdotcom on Twitter and use the hashtag #CommunityPantry. – Rappler.com