‘Gulay Bouquets’ for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day

‘Gulay Bouquets’ for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day

A new and fruitful initiative to help Filipino farmers

Ana Patricia Non, Maginhawa Community Pantry founder

By Patricia Gabrielle Dolor

The Philippine Reporter

LOVE is in the air, and what better way to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day but with some vegetables? Yup! You heard that correct! Gulay (vegetable) bouquets are your all-in-one thoughtful, healthy and heart-warming gift to your loved ones, and communities from the Philippines to Canada are feeling the love.

Ana Patricia Non, the founder of the Maginhawa Street Community Pantry in Quezon City, Philippines, has introduced a sustainable and innovative way to connect the consumer with farmers, helping those who produce the veggies just as much as those consuming them.

The gulay bouquets will contain vegetables that range from garlic, carrots, malunggay, siling labuyo, and some of the bouquets will even have white onions provided by farmers from San Jose, Nueva Ecija. The price of onions has alarmingly gone up in the Philippines during the last few weeks. This kitchen staple, especially for Filipinos, has become unattainable for many as inflation hikes prices.

VEGETABLE (GULAY)
BOUQUETS. Each
bouquet weighs about 5 kilograms and costs P1,500. All proceeds will go to Filipino farmers.
Photos: Patricia Non Facebook

Each bouquet will cost P1,500 (C$37) plus P150 shipping fee to anywhere in Metro Manila and will weigh about five kilograms.

Non, who had started off with a small act of kindness, packing a bamboo cart with fresh vegetables and food products in Quezon City during the height of the pandemic, created a movement for community pantries to be widespread – now, there are way too many to count.

In May of last year, Non received the Ambassador’s Woman of Courage Award from the U.S. Embassy for her extremely selfless efforts to provide for those in need. Ultimately, she inspired a community to come together to share resources and create a better way to reach those who need them most.

Described as a “bayanihan, sari-sari store and pasalubong” rolled into one, Non’s generosity flowed effortlessly and promoted a system of reciprocity.

Known to her peers as “Patreng,” her revolutionary idea to simply put a cart outside her home not just motivated many to do the same, but became a micro-economy where she buys from local farmers, fishermen, and even orders from closed down restaurants in the area, she said in a published interview with Tatler Asia.

The gulay bouquet will do an amazing service to Filipino farmers. Proceeds are going to be used in vegetable rescue operations for the harvest of farmers. This vegetable outreach initiative will positively impact the crisis-affected farmers of the Philippines.

“Sa padating na Valentine’s Day maaari pa natin i-extend ang pagmamahal natin sa iba mula sa pagbili natin ng gulay bouquet sa Community Pantry PH. Deserve natin lahat ng healthy na pagmamahal!” says Non in a Facebook posted on February 6.

From the Philippines, all the way to Canada, we all deserve to live happy and healthy lives. This is just one of many ways to promote generosity, well-being and coming together as a community.

(The Philippine Reporter learned that the Community Pantry and Ana Patricia Non are no longer accepting orders due to the demand they already received.)