Food donation bill to breach hunger - Gordon

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today pointed out that the Food Donation bill is not intended as a dole out but to address the increasing hunger rate in the country.

Gordon, author of Senate Bill 1710 also known as the Food Donation Act, said the bill aims to help out the sixteen million less fortunate Filipinos who cannot provide for their basic food requirements.

"A lot of people, a good portion, in our country go to bed hungry because they cannot afford to buy food. There is food insecurity. And therefore, we want to reach out to those who don't have the capability to feed themselves," he said.

"This type of donation is nothing new. Countries like the United States, Britain, and Canada carry out similar programs to help out the poor and forgotten people of their society. We are faced by an almost similar problem, why not do the same?" he added.

The National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) estimates that more than sixteen million Filipinos are below the food or subsistence threshold in the year 2000.

These are the people whose incomes fail to provide them with basic food requirements. To highlight the growing number of Filipinos going hungry, a documentary was shown on television featuring a scavenger as he collects food wastes from fast food chains and distributes them to others like him who cannot afford to buy food.

On the other hand, large amounts of excess food are wasted everyday by fast food chains, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and even parties like weddings, birthdays and fiestas.

These food surpluses meet all quality and labeling standards as imposed by current laws and regulations but have been rendered non-marketable due to quality purposes.

Gordon, as he urged his colleagues to pass the measure, said that aside from addressing the problem of hunger, the bill will also bring back the dignity of the poor and satisfy the need for self-capability.

"Through this bill, we can teach the poor to create food opportunities for themselves. The object of this bill is to try and breach those gaps, hunger, satisfying hunger. At the same time, satisfying the need for self-capability. Capability so they are able to feed themselves and therefore get back his dignity. We should fix the problem, not the blame," he said.

Gordon, also chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), said the idea is to collect excess food, not leftovers, from parties, buffets and from restaurants and fast food chains that are about to be thrown out.

Red Cross volunteers or other non-government organizations (NGOs) will do the collection and distribution.

"Ang ideya nito, halimbawa kung nagpaparty ka, marami kang excess food, o yung sa mga buffet. Hindi yung pinagkainan, hindi yung tira kundi yung hindi nagalaw na pagkain, kukunin yan ng mga taga-Red Cross, o kaya iba't ibang mga tao. At alinsunod sa isang plano na bibigyan yung mga taong hirap na hirap sa buhay, sila ay bibigyan," he said.