Firm launches community pantry, garden for needy Bacolod villagers

BACOLOD CITY—A private firm launched Saturday, June 12, a community pantry and garden for residents of Barangay Pahanocoy in this city.

The RU Group of Companies not only aims to provide immediate assistance to the needy, but also provide livelihood opportunities as a long-term solution to uplift their lives.

Ramon Uy, the firm’s owner, distributed vegetable packs to 975 residents, including tricycle drivers, in Pahanocoy.

“It was a joint project with the barangay council headed by Yolanda Noble that also provided rice packs and delivered the assistance to the doorsteps of the identified recipients to avoid mass gathering amid the COVID pandemic,” Uy said.

The RU Family Assistance Center (RU FAC) is offering Pahanocoy residents a livelihood project, where they will be trained in vermicomposting.

Uy said the residents would be given 100 African Night Crawler Worms (ANC) and they must return 200 after six months or earlier before they are provided initial planting materials or seedlings.

RU FAC will buy back their vermicast at P6 per kilo and the worms for P100 per kilo or 2 kilos of organic rice.

To participate in the program, recipients must attend a seminar on vermitech, and have a small organic garden enough for daily family needs before they could sell the vermicast or worms back, Uy said.

After 10 transactions, they will be eligible for RU FAC membership.

“Privileges of being a member is one will be eligible to participate in RU FAC scholarships, skills training, seminars, job opportunities or referral, business opportunities, hog and chicken raising, and other income-generating programs, Uy said.

LZB