ILOILO – The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has launched a project making food accessible to poor families and senior citizens – the “Bayanihan Kiosks”.
These were launched yesterday in various towns.
With the slogan “Bulig Mo, Kabuhi Ko”, the project encourages community sharing while battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Conceptualized by IPPO director Police Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, food items available at Bayanihan Kiosks are donations from concerned individuals, businessmen and local government units.
“Marami tayong magagawa na maganda sa ating kapwa na nangangailangan ng pagkain. We started collecting goods at marami ang nag-donate, kahit mga farmers na may sobra binigyan tayo ng mga gulay,” said Lucas.
The IPPO has opened “Bayanihan Kiosks in every town. The kiosks have packs of rice (one kilo for each pack), vegetables, canned goods, cooking oil, salt, eggs, and noodles, among others.
To secure these goods, a person only has to present a home quarantine pass to prove that he or she is a resident of the town.
Each person (one per family, as there is only one quarantine pass given to each family) can avail himself of free goods at a maximum weight of two kilos.
“Ang maganda sa kiosk natin pwede silang pumili sa mga naka-display na food items. Pero hanggang two kilos lang bawat recipient para marami ang maka-avail. Pwede naman kung gusto mo bigas lang lahat, o gulay or canned goods lang,” said Lucas.
The IPPO appealed for more donations to the Bayanihan Kiosks.
“Share your extra rice, noodles, canned goods, dried fish, vegetables, livestock, even alcohol or hand sanitizers. We are making these available to the poorest families,” said Lucas.
Last week, the IPPO distributed foods packs to 5,000 families economically displaced by the ongoing enhanced community quarantine to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The IPPO selected the poorest barangays in every town – with the help of municipal social welfare and development offices.
Each food pack contained rice, canned goods, sugar, coffee, noodles, and vegetables./PN
