60 families in Barangay Dayap of Calauan, Laguna became the newest beneficiaries of Okada Foundation, Inc.'s (OFI) Food Share Program, an ongoing initiative in partnership with Kabisig ng Kalahi (KnK).
The program facilitates the creation of a community garden. It also empowers beneficiaries with the means to cultivate crops for food or as a supplementary source of income.
In 2023, OFI pledged P25 million as funding for the initiative and partnered up with KnK to execute the program in different communities in the country. At the Food Share Program’s launching ceremony in Brgy. Dayap, beneficiaries were also given a bag of rice each.
In a message, OFI President James Lorenzana shared the foundation’s gladness in the continued success of the initiative.
“We’re happy to find that more Filipinos from different communities are beginning to enjoy the benefits of the Food Share Program: a supply of nutritious food and the chance to secure better income for their families,” said Lorenzana.
KnK Founder Victoria Wieneke sought to encourage the beneficiaries to put the Food Share Program’s community garden to use. “The first thing we’ll do is get to work. We will plant seeds that we’ll cultivate into food, and hopefully, will also eventually become a source of income.”
Wieneke also shared plans to establish a community library, which she hoped would be a source of education and leisure for Brgy. Dayap’s locals.
The Food Share Program, according to Lorenzana, is in line with OFI’s missions “to address food security for Filipino families.
“On behalf of the foundation, we thank our collaborators from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government units for their tireless support to bring Okada Foundation’s Food Share Program to the more beneficiaries,” said Lorenzana.
“We hope that this spirit of cooperation between the public and private sectors continues to strengthen as we extend our program to more communities that need our help,” he concluded.