Roxy Lofranco, a 29-year-old mother and housewife from Brgy. Nabuad in Inabanga, Bohol, never imagined she would be able to make a difference in the lives of so many people until she joined the Feed Back program of the award winning, social impact innovator ARK (ARKSolves.org).
Feed Back is a 16-week vegetable exchange for the entire community. It inspires families to farm their food needs in their backyards and to produce excess which they share with neighbors at the Feed Back Exchange or sell to nearby villages and towns. It is a program that secures food, health and new income for families and creates a source of affordable and nourishing food for the region.
ARK has partnered with local government units and private institutions, such as PLDT and Smart, to roll out this project to more communities in the Visayas, including the Municipality of Inabanga.
Roxy learned about the program when her barangay was starting Feed Back in their community. They needed people to lead and manage the program. She became their barangay’s community storyteller. Roxy’s main role was to interview participants and document the Feed Back journey of Brgy. Nabuad.
“It feels rewarding to be a part of this meaningful initiative and see how it has positively impacted many people in our barangay. I have enjoyed listening to the different stories of the participants, from long-time vegetable garden owners to first-timers who had only recently discovered the value of growing their own food,” she shared.
When ARK and Feed Back scaled deeper in Inabanga, she was hired as ARK’s local coordinator of LGU Inabanga, working closely with the organization and the participating barangays to ensure the program’s successful implementation in the municipality.
“Beyond the opportunity to have a job and an additional livelihood, I am most grateful that this initiative has really expanded my world. This has allowed me to visit other barangays in our town and, most importantly, gave me the chance to meet new people and hear their inspiring stories,” Roxy said.
The efforts of PLDT and Smart to support like-minded organizations in empowering Filipinos to embrace sustainable urban gardening and promote food security are aligned with the group’s commitment to help the Philippines attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger and UNSDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
