Urgent: Unite and fight hunger

Remembering Jose Rizal, whose birthday falls on the 19th of June, and his invaluable contribution to our people and our nation can inspire us to reflect and ask ourselves what we can do to make life better for our people, our country, our world, and our planet.

This pandemic has worsened lives for millions. Poverty has widened and deepened. The May Social Weather Stations survey showed 4.2 million Filipinos who experienced hunger doubled to 16.7% from 8.8% last December, 2019.

The most urgent call now is to provide food for millions of hungry Filipinos soonest. What can be done?

Food packs are certainly helpful but not sustainable, as demonstrated by the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). Despite huge donations and loans during this pandemic, the present administration has admitted that while it wants to help all, funds are lacking.

Hunger, however, has to be immediately addressed. How can the hungry be assisted soonest?

As we wrote in a previous column, realizing within this crisis the need for sustainable and available food supply, many individuals and groups have resorted to providing for their own needs, through home and community gardening

We want to add here the wonderful initiative of 65 men and women (from relocated communities of Consolacion and Mandaue, specifically from Little Tokyo, San Lorenzo, and Sto. Niño) who now call themselves urban farmers!

With the assistance of the Estenzo group who provided seeds and seed bags, they are now awaiting their harvest of okra, pechay, tomato, finger pepper, and sweet pepper. These diligent urban farmers are inspiring others in their relocation areas to grow food through their sariling sikap!

You may also be interested to check the FB sites of CAFÉ-I and Pajac Parish- the SHJP Seven Families of Hope for their joint 8-Week Grow-It-Yourself Healthy Family Feeding and Edible Urban Gardening Program.

The Seed for Life/Fight Against Hunger Campaign has also just been initiated, with the Department of Agriculture and several groups as partners. The initial goal is to assist the hungry through home/community gardens, through planting fast-growing seeds and plants (organic, please!) that can be harvested and prepared as healthy food at the shortest time possible.

As examples, while awaiting the full growth of camote and ampalaya, the leaves can be used for soup. Kangkong, pechay, and okra are also fast growing. Making bean sprouts from mongo seeds is also easy and quick.

Aside from seeds, Professor Bags Bagarinao of the University of the Philippines in Los Banos suggested regrowing kangkong, cabbage, pechay and other vegetables and plants for faster harvests and food for the hungry! He shared this:

How To Regrow Everything for info about how to regrow fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices even in your own kitchen and home!

If everyone in their own homes, communities, parishes, business and industry, schools and universities and other locations can be encouraged to start planting seeds or regrowing plants, the promise of food for the hungry especially within weeks can become a reality!

Home/community gardening can also provide livelihood options for the jobless. Surplus harvests can generate exchange networks as well. Seeds can be sold as well.

Please consider and start planting and/or regrowing your veggies and other plants for your own healthy, steady, sustainable food supply so you can share and help this campaign to urgently fight hunger among our people!

May this valuable practice of planting seeds and regrowing plants be mainstreamed, started, and sustainably continued in every home and community. This simple practice addressing hunger and poverty can be done within and beyond periods of pandemic.

A small step for homes and communities, a giant leap for hunger alleviation, food sufficiency and security for our people and our nation!