‘Sibuyas for a cause’: Community pantry offers affordable onions for farmers

January 19, 2023 - 6:38 PM
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A photo of community pantry organizer Ana Patricia Non with several red onions in the palm of her hands (Facebook/Patreng Non)

“Sibuyas for a cause.”

Community pantry organizer Ana Patricia Non or Patreng Non call on the public to purchase red onions worth P400 per kilogram for a community pantry.

Interested customers need to submit an order form provided in the post.

Non also attached the GCash number where they can send their payment.

This was part of the onion rescue operations that were first posted on the Community Pantry Philippines Facebook page on January 17.

The organization receives packs of onions from farmers and other donors. Then, the accumulated crops are put up for sale on Facebook.

Non updated the public about the number of onions left for sale.

“Salamat sa mga magsasaka at donors ng sibuyas! Makakatulong sa mas madami pang gulay rescue operations ng CPPHI ang inyong pagbili ng sibuyas,” the post reads.

Since 2020, Non’s food stall program and the community pantries that were inspired by it have been responding to the needs of different communities in the country.

These include poverty alleviation, typhoon aid and recently, the rescue of excess crops.

This cause, meanwhile, came at a time when Filipinos are experiencing the brunt of the country’s onion crisis.

Onion is among the prime ingredients in most dishes in the country.

The skyrocketing prices of onions in local markets forced some Filipinos to ask relatives to import the crops from their loved ones overseas.

There were also reports of several Filipino dishes having limited or no onions from local eateries and branches.

READ: Can Philippine inbound travelers bring home onions as pasalubong? | ‘Priced higher than meat, minimum wage’: Philippine onion crisis lands TIME feature 

Caritas Philippines, the Catholic Church’s social action and advocacy arm, previously urged the government to help the farmers who are most affected by this situation.

“The government should provide financial incentives or subsidies to help our farmers grow more onions and lower the cost of production,” said its president Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo.

“This will make them more competitive with producers from other countries, who are already receiving large subsidies and other forms of support from their government,” he added.

READ: Caritas Philippines calls for more gov’t support to onion farmers