The Tanging Yaman Foundation (TYF) has been providing food packs to the urban poor long before the pandemic. It has since distributed over 150,000 food and care packages.
During the enhanced community quarantine, Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ, TYF’s chair, decided to make their food packs more nutritious.
Thus the idea of sourcing dried tuyo directly from fishing communities in Cebu and Roxas City came to mind. So far, TYF has bought 37 tons directly from the fisherfolk, who suffered loss of business from the big traders due to the lockdown.
Vegetables were sourced directly from growers in Benguet, Ilocos, Isabela, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, including 4.4 tons of cabbage, to aid the farmers and to nourish the urban poor in the parishes of Marikina, Quezon City and Novaliches.
TYF continues to buy products and crops directly from their sources and offering them at reasonable prices to villages, parishes and the general public.
Twice a month, the foundation takes orders for vegetables, dried fish and many other delicacies; pot holders and floor mats made by the women of Payatas; and quality walis tingting and walis tambo. Soon, produce from The Good Shepherd and the other religious orders that cook or bake will be available. (Amy Dycoco, tel. 0917-5760036)
Feeding inmates
Aside from providing food for the urban poor, TYF provides assistance to the front-liners of the New Bilibid Prison. The project is called the New Bilib-Eat Project, with Fr. Eli Lumbo, executive director of the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service. It’s an undertaking that I am very proud to be a part of.
Our front-liners in the correctional system are in need of food, and we also hope to extend some kindness and generosity to inmates as well, should donations allow for it.
For just P80, you can help feed a front-liner for a day. We hope to raise enough funds to be able to feed our front-liners every day until the end of the year.
Our initial goal for this is 105 meal packs per day. It is our hope to provide fruits, vegetables, as well as grooming kits to the inmates during these difficult times.
According to Fr. Manoling, “Despite their liability for the crimes they’ve committed, our incarcerated brothers and sisters deserve to be treated with compassion as human beings like all of us.”
As food for thought, a verse from Matthew 25:36: “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
(For donations: Tanging Yaman Foundation, Metrobank Account Number: 4487-4480-0988-9. For proper acknowledgment of your donation, please send your proof of transfer through Viber at 0920-9REGGIE / 0920-9734443 or e-mail [email protected].)
Helping Donsol
I am very honored to be a part of World Wild Life Fund (WWF)’s “Kawali-Kasan: A Sustainable Home Cooking Series” to help raise funds for the benefit of the 278 environmental front-liners in need of food assistance in Donsol. Due to the lack of tourism income, people there have been struggling to feed their families and provide for their daily basic needs.
Please help us support the community of Donsol as they continue to “ChangeTheEnding” for our endangered butanding and their natural habitat.
My episode on plant-based food recently aired. I am sharing the recipe for the Rainbow Hummus platter I made.
Green Hummus
1 c chickpeas, peeled
3-4 Tbsp tahini paste
4 Tbsp olive oil
Handful of malunggay and chili leaves, blanched and squeezed dry
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Purple Hummus
1 c chickpeas, peeled
1-2 Tbsp tahini paste
¼-⅓ c olive oil
150 g purple sweet potatoes, roasted
50 g ube, roasted
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Yellow Orange Hummus
1 c chickpeas, peeled
1-2 Tbsp tahini paste
¼-⅓ c olive oil
100 g orange kamote, roasted
100 g carrots, roasted
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Fuchsia Hummus
1 c chickpeas, peeled
1-2 Tbsp tahini paste
¼-⅓ c olive oil
150 g beet root, roasted
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Process the ingredients in a food processor, adding olive oil last in a fine stream. Use tahini, lemon, salt and pepper according to your personal taste. Drizzle hummus with more olive oil before serving. Serve with an assortment of greens, vegetables, pita and sourdough bread.
We are still accepting donations; visit simplygiving.com/plant-based-dishes-by-chef-reggie-aspiras. It would mean a lot if you could lend a hand to these vulnerable sectors of society. Any help will go a long way. Let us help those in need, and make our countrymen feel the spirit of Christmas early.
Visit www.reggieaspiras.com; follow @iamreggieaspiras on Facebook and Instagram
