The social action arm of the Catholic Church in the Philippines called on churches across the country to activate aid stations to support initiatives for the poor like the “community pantries.”
Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines, said church-run aid stations can augment community-led initiatives to address food insecurity and hunger.
The prelate said social action centers of dioceses should “continue, open, or re-active” Caritas’ “Kindness Stations” that have been set up last year.
In April 2020, Caritas Philippines launched the “Kindness Station” program aimed at mobilizing local parish communities to help the poor access food.
The program encourages everyone to “take what you need, spare some for others, and give what you can” as a response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on poor communities.
Caritas Philippines adopted the concept from a project initiated by a group of young people in Sorsogon City at the onset of the global health crisis last year.
Bishop Bagaforo said local churches should reactivate the “Kindness Stations” to encourage other sectors to establish their own aid stations and replicate the concept of “community pantries.”
“Community pantries” sprung in many parts of the country after 26-year-old Ann Patricia Non started her community pantry on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City.
An estimated 70 “community pantries” have opened in Quezon City and more than 300 others across the country.
