Community pantry pioneer Ana Patricia Non has been bestowed the Woman of Courage Award by the United States Embassy in the Philippines for her efforts to aid and inspire needy Filipinos in difficult times. Non was recognized over a year after she founded the Maginhawa Community Pantry initiative that sparked a nationwide movement among Filipinos in 2021 to help one another amid hardships and quarantine restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The former University of the Philippines student leader’s idea to use a bamboo cart stocked with food donations to feed the hungry inspired many to start community pantries of their own in various neighborhoods across the Philippines. Stories of the bayanihan good deed even spread beyond the country’s borders and have been replicated by Filipinos who set up community pantries in Thailand, Timor-Leste, and many other places. The free food pantry has also inspired others to put their own creative spin on the concept. Groups and kind-hearted individuals initiated the free plant to feed yourselves pantry, taho vendor giveaways, zero-waste pantries, pet food pantry, and online healing sessions. Non was presented with the award by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava at the United States Embassy in Manila on May 17, 2022. Variava said the Ambassador’s Woman of Courage Award honors Non’s “community pantry initiative that inspired Filipinos to combine resources and help one another during the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Empowered and courageous women can change the world for the better,” Heather Variava said on Twitter.

Source: Good News Pilipinas