It is no consolation to be told that inflation is easing to less than seven percent in July of 2026. Even six percent is still three times the two percent or less annual inflation target that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)Bank should be aiming for.

What is more concerning is that food inflation is at double-digit levels and could be exacerbated when El Niño hits the country at full force during the second semester. The expected long dry spell, coupled with sporadic strong typhoons, will wreak havoc on the farming sector, further worsening food inflation.

In fact, in early July 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent as job losses in agriculture, driven by bad weather, outweighed employment gains in services and other sectors. With the economy slowing down to a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of less than three percent for the year, we can expect a good number of households currently at the margin of the low-income category to join the ranks of those falling below the poverty line. There will be millions more who will not be able to eat three square meals a day, with the greatest harm inflicted on children.

We have been informed countless times that our so-called demographic dividend is seriously threatened by the stunting of Filipino children who are undernourished or malnourished during their earliest years. Just recently, on June 30, 2026, in this very daily, Cesar Ilao III reminded us that, “as a reflection of chronic undernutrition, stunting irreversibly limits a child’s physical growth and brain development. We’re not merely talking about a material lack that can eventually be overcome, but about consigning an entire generation to begin life at a biological disadvantage.”

Those of us who are better off in life must address the problem of child hunger today, not tomorrow. We have to make sure that all efforts—from both the government and the private sector—to feed hungry children this year are urgently implemented. This is a corporal work of mercy that cannot be postponed.

That is why I want to hold up as an example for emulation once again the Philippine Food Bank Foundation. The foundation recently benefited from a fundraising campaign in the form of a golf tournament at Tagaytay Midlands, thanks to the generosity of a group of top executives and entrepreneurs led by Hans Sy of the SM group of companies.

The Third Foodbank PH Golf Cup on July 3, 2026, started with the opening remarks of the President of the Foundation, Mr. Rafael “Itong” Torres. He reminded the 200 golfer-benefactors that the Philippine Food Bank Foundation was born in February 2017, nearly 10 years ago, with nothing more than a borrowed warehouse, a small team of believers, and a first donation of canned milk from Alaska Corp. There was no government funding. No endowment. No safety net.

There were just people—like the people who participated in the golf tournament. These were individuals already keenly aware of the simultaneous problems of food waste and hunger who said, this does not have to be this way, echoing Pope Francis when he lamented the “throwaway culture.” Every golf tournament, every sponsorship, every player’s registration fee, every raffle ticket, and every table at every dinner we have ever held—that is what has kept our doors open, our trucks running, and our shelves stocked. Not just for a month or a year, but for nearly a decade.

Because of generous people like those who participated in the golf tournament, the Philippine Food Bank has been able to rescue surplus food worth ₱150 million—food that would have otherwise rotted in a landfill—and deliver it instead to more than 5 million Filipinos, especially children, in communities across Metro Manila, Parañaque, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.

The Philippine Food Bank Foundation is approaching its 10th year. For a small non-profit enterprise running entirely on the generosity of partners and donors, that is a milestone the officers of the Foundation do not take for granted. This achievement belongs to all who have generously helped us through donations in kind or in cash to cover overhead expenses, especially logistics and manpower costs. The Foundation extends its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made it possible for us to benefit tens of thousands of hungry individuals, especially children.

Our newest partnership is with Mabu, and our newest program is Balik Lusog. Both represent the next chapter of what the Food Bank Foundation and its community of supporters are making possible. Furthermore, these are the exact programs direly needed this year as we implement emergency solutions to the undernutrition and malnutrition of poor children—solutions that simply cannot be postponed for tomorrow.

It was providential that the President of the Food Bank met the team behind Mabu, a young Filipino company with a beautifully simple idea. Mabu is an app that connects restaurants, bakeries, and cafes with customers who want to buy their unsold goods at up to a 70 percent discount through what they call a "Surprise Bag." Good food, half the price, and saved from being thrown away. They had an impressive line on their website that aligned perfectly with our own beliefs: “Impact is not marketing for us. It is built into the business model.”

Mabu committed three percent of every Surprise Bag sold to food security partners—which include our Food Bank. Additionally, food that cannot be sold through their platform is redirected to feeding programs like ours.

We found this model to be a truly progressive partnership. The restaurants are able to earn revenue they would have otherwise lost. The customers get good food at a fair price. Food is saved from the landfill. And a portion of every transaction quietly and consistently goes to the hungry. Mabu is a perfect example of a social enterprise—a commercial undertaking organized for profit but whose ultimate aim is to promote the common good by addressing a social problem, in this case, hunger.

We highly recommend that all businesses with soon-to-expire food products—whether in farming, manufacturing, or services—get in touch with mabu.ph (https://mabu.ph).