BY FRITZIE RODRIGUEZ
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – How do we end a perennial problem like hunger?
These numbers are alarming, especially with only one year left until the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – such as reducing hunger and poverty – are supposedly met.
With the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), thousands of survivors are working towards recovery; however, hunger continues to taunt devastated families.
This challenge prompts us to revisit one of the most successful food banks in Asia, specifically the one in South Korea.
Lessons from South Korea
South Korea embodies the classic rags-to-riches success story. From a war and poverty ravaged country, it has emerged as one of the richest and most innovative countries in the world. Its transformation has shocked and inspired the world.
Filipina community organizer and sociologist Maria Fides F. Bagasao stayed in South Korea for 4 years as coordinator of Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia (LOCOA).
According to her, South Korea’s food banks are a community-based initiative, with government entering the picture only later on. The initiative took off because Koreans made sure they did their best in helping the less fortunate.
Bagasao explained the influence of the Korean “Pali-pali culture,” an expression which translates to “hurry up.”
“They work fast. They’re focused. ’Yung staff ko, I just instructed her on what to do, ’di pa ko nakakaupo, tapos na,” she quipped. (I just instruct my Korean staff what to do and before I could even sit down, the task was already done.)
First, the most vulnerable groups in poor Korean communities are identified, and the volunteers make sure that these people benefit from the food banks.
The food banks have tie-ups with restaurants, groceries, convenience stores, and other private business owners who can help in donating supplies.
They also establish agreements with land owners, allowing them to convert unused lands into vegetable gardens.
These community-based food banks run a daily operation. Aside from ensuring that supply is met, the system also makes sure that the distributed food is clean and nutritious.
“Food security is also about the quality of food, preparation, and the sufficiency of nutrition,” Bagasao emphasized.
Korea’s food bank centers
In the present set-up, every month, beneficiaries may also get 5 items each (food, clothes) from Food Bank centers.
Their atmosphere is similar to a real store, making beneficiaries feel as though they’re really shopping. This aims to prevent stigmatization among beneficiaries – especially among the elderly. It’s a good place to socialize and interact with others.
Apart from providing food, Bagasao said that skills-training programs are also offered to beneficiaries as part of a Self-Reliance Support Program to lessen, if not avoid, dependency among beneficiaries.
The program instills long-term self-sufficiency, especially for those who are still capable of participating in some form of livelihood.
For many years, these community-based food banks were running on nothing but donated time, efforts, manpower, food, and cash from volunteers, community organizers, and the private sector. Later on, amid the Asian Financial Crisis, the South Korean government began supporting, funding, and participating in the food bank system.
The beneficiaries include orphans, persons with disabilities (PWDs), the aged, homeless, unemployed, and victims of natural disasters.
Today, there are over 400 food banks across South Korea supported by its welfare expenditure budget.
Bagasao said the Philippines should learn from South Korea and should adopt a similar community-based model which can work locally.
“The country’s social protection policies and initiatives to allocate more economic resources for these reforms will have to be protected by the public, organized social movements, civil society, and like-minded political leaders,” Bagasao added.
