Getting inspiration from the community pantries being established in almost all parts of the country, the Department of Agriculture- Regional Field Office I (DA-RFO I) simultaneously put up its own KADIWA community pantries at the regional office and at its six (6) satellite stations today, April 26, 2021.
A project led by the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) in partnership with Farmers’ Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs) in the region, the KADIWA community pantry serves as a platform to extend kindness to community residents especially those who are less fortunate and are greatly affected by the ongoing pandemic due to COVID-19.
Ms. Wilhelmina Castañeda, Chief of the AMAD disclosed that around 300 individuals have benefitted from the activity in San Fernando City alone with the free provision of vegetables such as eggplant, tomatoes, ampalaya, squash, okra, sitao, upo, kamote tops, and saluyot as well as 2 kilos of rice and Ilocos vinegar, among others.
Meanwhile, DA-RFO I OIC Regional Executive Director Nestor D. Domenden spearheaded the opening of the KADIWA Community Pantry at the Pangasinan Research and Experiment Center (PREC) in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan where people also lined up to get their share of free vegetables and fruits.
Likewise, DA-RFO I’s other research stations at PREC Sual, Pangasinan, Ilocos Integrated Agricultural Research Center (ILIARC) in Sapilang, Bacnotan, La Union, Ilocos Sur Research Center (ISReC) in San Juan, Ilocos Sur, and the Ilocos Norte Research & Experiment Centers (INREC) in Batac City and Dingras, Ilocos Norte, also gave away various vegetables including fruit tree seedlings, cassava roots, grocery items including mushroom fruiting bags, sitao beans, black and red rice, eggs, and mungbean seeds, among others that filled the community pantries benefitting residents who patiently and joyfully waited in line to receive their free share.
These KADIWA community pantries established by DA in Ilocos Region were made possible by benevolent donors to include among others individuals, private citizens, and FCAs who unselfishly shared their own produce and goods all for the joy of giving.❤️
