Mega Prime Foods Inc. kicked off its celebration of National Sardines Month with a “homecoming celebration” and community outreach initiative in Malabon City on Wednesday. The city holds significance for the company as the location where it started 50 years ago.

The food manufacturer prepared various activities at the Malabon Sports Center as a way of giving back to the community that supported its growth.

“We’ve been doing this for over ten years now; we visited various communities all throughout the Philippines,” said Marvin Tiu Lim, Chief of Growth and Development Officer of Mega Prime Foods. “This is very important to us, especially Malabon, because this is where we started 50 years ago.”

Lim added that without the community’s support, the company would not have grown to its current level, calling the event “a small gesture from us on giving back to all the help they did for us.”

The event featured a cook-off challenge where locals reinvented dishes using Mega Prime food products. Entries showcased creativity with canned fish, including tuna sisig, mushroom omelette, sardine meatballs and lumpiang shanghai. The recipes are being promoted as easy and affordable to recreate at home.

Lim highlighted that Mega Prime products, particularly sardines, are nutritious and affordable, making them essential for the Filipino mass market.

“Almost everyone eats sardines, whether you’re rich or poor,” Lim explained. “But they don’t know that sardines are a nutrient-dense food; it has lycopene, Omega 3, iron, [and] calcium. On a cheap price, it can give nutrition to your family.”