The Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte has also joined the community pantry craze.
In a statement, DPPF said it opened its own community pantry last Wednesday, April 28, “to encourage everyone, especially the personnel, to openly share the goods to those who are in need of things that are basic in the kitchen like fruits and vegetables.”
DPPF said the pantry was organized by its Reformation Office headed by Corrections Senior Inspector Eusebio del Rosario under the guidance of Corrections Chief Superintendent Julie May C. Taguiam, head of the penal farm.
It said that staff from the mayor's office of the municipality of B.E. Dujali and some municipal councilors also took part in the activity by sharing their fresh farm produce for the people inside the prison reservation.
It pointed out that the setting up of a pantry was realized after Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Q. Bantag signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the utilization of BuCor lands for the "Plant Plant Plant Program" of the government.
“The setting up of community pantries gives hope and life to people badly affected by the pandemic,” DPPF said.
“It helps counter poverty, hunger and at the same time, it can improve harmony, friendliness, and trust among residents,” it added.