At Sitio Pajo, a poor barangay in Baesa, Quezon City, a small kitchen comes to life before dawn.
Over 600 meals are cooked and packed every day by a handful of Kusina ng Kalinga volunteers.
Kusina ng Kalinga is a universal school-based feeding program run by Gawad Kalinga. It serves nutritious lunch meals daily to 18,252 elementary students in our country’s poorest communities thru its kitchens in Palo, Alang-Alang, and San Isidro, Leyte; Hernani, Eastern Samar; Sitio Pajo in Quezon City; Nagcarlan, Laguna; San Gabriel, La Union; Baguio City, Benguet; Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat; Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and Parang, Maguindanao.
Unlike many feeding programs, Kusina ng Kalinga is a sustained initiative that is vital in ending a fundamental symptom of poverty: hunger. All students of sections that are part of the program will be able to receive a meal; regardless of their weight or current nutrition status.
In 2015, social enterprise First Harvest set out to raise 10,000 meals for hundreds of public school children via Gawad Kalinga’s Kusina ng Kalinga. This year, First Harvest intends to go even further with its Caring Comes First campaign. Each purchase of First Harvest Peanut Spread goes towards raising 66,000 meals for Kusina ng Kalinga.
It seems unfathomable that a four-year-old food brand like First Harvest is gearing up to raise funds to help feed hundreds of our nation’s poorest children.
“What makes our business work is that we always put the poor first. They define our business model. We continue to dream that we will be able to scale up our production so that we can help more people and their families,” explains Tajen Sui, co-founder of First Harvest.
First Harvest credits its strong social mission to its roots. The enterprise was founded in the country’s leading hub for social entrepreneurship—the GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan.
“When we started First Harvest, we had no business background. All we knew was we wanted to help women in poor communities. We partnered with two women who lived in a community in GK Enchanted Farm, Tita Cora and Tita Aida, who were already making homemade peanut butter from local ingredients. The samples they made eventually became the products we enjoy now.”
He adds that their beneficiaries have become benefactors, teaching more women to make peanut butter. “Our locals and our farmers have vast untapped resources like land and produce.”
Twice the love in every jar
For Sui and the rest of the First Harvest team, providing food is a palpable expression of love.
Every bite is free from extenders, artificial flavors and preservatives. The brand’s development process involves reviving heritage recipes and using homegrown ingredients for its products.
As a social enterprise, First Harvest participates in rural development by manufacturing straight in farming communities. This way, the brand can source the freshest ingredients straight from the farmers, and create employment opportunities through its manufacturing chain.
“We want to create value for our community partners—whether they’re agrarian reform beneficiaries or local women who can be taught how to make the products. First Harvest wants to be a platform to share their talent and to connect them to opportunities.”
First Harvest’s bestseller, the Peanut Spread (P174.75, 250g; P274.75, 450g) is loved for its all-natural blend of rich roasted peanuts delicately sweetened by honey. It also has a Filipino take on the much raved about salted caramel flavor: Salted Coco Caramel (P149.75, 140g). Its layers of flavors with aromatic sesame seeds and a dash of salt—is a far cry from the regular coco jam. Kids love the texture of the Peanut Crunch (P189.75, 250g; P289.75, 450g). It combines the flavors of the peanut spread with a pop of pinipig.
First Harvest spreads are now available in 40 outlets nationwide. Grab them from Human Nature branches nationwide, Balai Pandesal, B GOOD Store, Alabang-based Real Food and selected Echostore branches.
For more information, visit First Harvest.ph.
