Ana Patricia “Patreng” Non, the woman behind the community pantry movement in the Philippines, renewed calls for donations to makeshift food banks as many parts of the country reverted to hard lockdowns due to the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Non made the appeal in a Facebook video posted on Monday, August 2, four days before Metro Manila returned to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of lockdown under the Duterte administration.

“Nananawagan ako sa mga may kakayahang magbigay, i-push po natin ang pagbibigay sa pinakamalapit na community pantry sa atin, o sa kapitbahay nating nangangailangan,” Non said.

(I appeal to those with the resources to donate to the community pantry near you or to our neighbors in need.)

“Sa mga hindi kayang lumabas, pwede po tayong magpadala ng monetary donation sa Community Pantry PH at kung ano po ang perang malilikom, ibibili po natin ng gulay at bigas para ma-make sure natin na pagdating ng ECQ, iyong mga tao ay may kakainin,” Non added.

(For those who cannot go out, you can send monetary donations to Community Pantry PH. The money accumulated will be used to buy vegetables and rice to ensure that our poor Filipinos will have something to eat when hard lockdowns begin.)

Community Pantry PH is a network of organizers and advocates of the makeshift, sidewalk free food stations in the country.

Non provided the following donation channels below:

• GOFUNDME:
  https://gofund.me/9519448e
• GCASH 09451454390
  Ann Patricia Non
• BDO 001430247639
  Ana Patricia B. Non

Nearly four months after Non established the very first community pantry, other organizers found it difficult to sustain the project as donations slowed.

Non said the new donations would help over 700 community pantries across the Philippines restart or continue their operations. 

At its peak, there were more than 4,000 food banks set up in the country back in May, and the initiative was replicated by like-minded individuals in other countries.

Non started her project in April in a bid to fill in the gaps of the government’s pandemic response.

She was catapulted to the national spotlight because of her rare generosity, but also by the unfounded and widely criticized red-baiting by government officials.

On Friday, July 30, Non said the government must step up to ensure that Filipinos have food on the table, following the announcement of Metro Manila’s return to ECQ.

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“Sa huli makikinig naman ang mga tao sa ‘stay home, stay safe’ kung may sapat na suporta at ayuda (In the end, people will heed stay-home protocols if there were enough support and supplemental aid from the government),” she said. – Rappler.com