COMMUNITY PANTRY. Solidarity is alive in Barangay San Andres II, Bacarra, Ilocos Norte as local officials set up a community pantry on Monday (April 19, 2021). Residents are reminded to get just what they need and donate items they have in excess. (Photo courtesy of Fritzie dela Cruz Facebook)
LAOAG CITY – As community pantries sprout all over, a village in Bacarra town, Ilocos Norte is doing the same to help residents make ends meet amid the health crisis.
On Monday, freshly picked fruits and vegetables readily available from backyards, cooking oil, canned goods, toothpaste, laundry bars, and noodles were dropped off at a community pantry in Barangay 3, San Andres II.
Mayor Fritzie Ann Kaye Gapasin, impressed by the initiative, urged other barangays to revive the solidarity spirit.
“You can take what you need from here and leave whatever you have in excess in your homes that you think can be of help to others,” Gapasin wrote on Facebook on Monday.
The first-term mayor, who is a nurse by profession, admitted Bacarra is affected by a series of communal lockdowns.
For affected residents who rely on their daily income, like tricycle drivers, vendors, laborers, and fishermen, but must stay home, each day is a matter of survival.
In San Nicolas town, egg trays, grocery items and packs of rice were delivered for locked down households in Barangay San Lorenzo, courtesy of anonymous donors.
The items were dropped off at the sub-village checkpoint and delivered by health workers to affected indigent families.
In Laoag City, a team from the city police station donated grocery packs to indigent members of the Muslim community in Barangay 1. (PNA)
