Our Food Heroes Have Spoken! Let’s Learn from Them.
November 2020
World Food Day should be every day
World Food Day is celebrated every October 16 in honor of the founding date of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. This year’s theme, “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our Actions are our Future” calls for global solidarity in doing our part to make food sustainable and accessible for all.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us take a step back and develop a deeper appreciation for one of our most basic needs: food. Keeping our bodies and minds healthy and strong through accessible, safe, and nutritious food is of utmost importance during the pandemic. Food is essential for our overall well-being and survival.
Who is a food hero and why is it important to be one?
Everyone can be a food hero. That includes you, me, and everyone in the community. Whether we grow, cook, sell, deliver, or eat food, we all have a role to play to keep nutritious food safe and accessible for all. A food hero is also a sustainable diner. It is important to do our part in keeping our food systems sustainable, especially amidst adversity such as pandemics — it is time to build back better and be a food hero!
Be like our food heroes! Let's learn from them.
Our #FoodHeroes have spoken! Learn from the winners of our recently concluded #IAmAFoodHero participatory video and photo contest. Read on and be inspired:
1. Julia Boydon
“We can all be a Food Hero simply by not wasting food in our home. For me, I can be a Food Hero by converting our little space into a mini garden. Simple creativity is needed by just hanging some of my plants like vegetables on the wall using empty bottles. l'm a self proclaimed VEGETITA because I love planting vegetables at our home. By this example, I want to inspire my friends and relatives to plant their own vegetables at home.This way, we can reduce pollution by avoiding going outside just to buy food. Converting our leftover food into compost to become fertilizer is what I also do at home. As much as possible, I don't use pesticide with my plants. And lastly eating what we can only eat to avoid waste is what I practice with my family at home.”
“We as a family practice the importance of recycling plastic bottles and containers from the food we eat and drink. I believe that we also need to look after our environment, it's good to eat food but we need to be responsible for all the things we consume.
Let's be responsible food lovers. As simple individuals, we are helping the planet by simply throwing our trash in the right trash bin. We segregate them and ensure that the things that can be recycled are properly separated. Yes, it's simple, but this way we are helping the environment. I also ensure that our surroundings are clean and trash free.”
“#TheSustainableDiner makes it a point to bring their reusable cups and utensils to avoid those one-time use plastics, styro boxes and even paper cups. As a weekend market seller, I encourage our customers and even fellow merchants to do the same thing. 🥰
#IAmAFoodHero by buying local, like meats, poultry and produce. By eating what I can only consume, so as not to have any food waste.
Let's support local farmers. 🌽🥬🌶️
Practice sustainable food preparation & dining.🍽️☕
Limit, if we can't avoid single use plastics.
Always have those reusable bags when going to the groceries or local market.”
4. Ged
“Mushrooms are one of the healthiest. Not only are they delicious, they also pack a nutritional punch as they are loaded with vitamins, promote bone health, boost the immune system and are cholesterol and gluten free. Mushrooms are my latest and most rewarding food source I grow aside from a few vegetables and herbs we nurture for the household consumption. With a little know how, a small space in your home and a little patience, anyone can do this. I learned from DIY sites on YouTube and there are many mushroom grower groups on social media, giving advice and sharing what they know about mushroom growing right in your own homes. I started with a few locally sourced oyster mushroom fruiting bags and currently, I am trying to get started on growing a local mushroom variety that's popular, the volva/straw mushroom or commonly known as the 'kabuteng saging.' This is a satisfying and rewarding thing to do while on quarantine, and also gives an option to make this an income generating livelihood project so let me be that food hero as I encourage everyone interested to try this.”
“Last month, we celebrated the #WorldFoodDay . As I read some articles about it, the #FoodHeroes caught my attention and I am continuously asking myself--Who are the Food Heroes? Am I a Food Hero? How can I be one of them? Is a food server in a restaurant like me can be one of them? What can I do to be a food hero?
For years of working in a restaurant who serves healthy food, it is not only my job to put food on plates then serve them. My job is to ensure the quality of food that I am serving, to serve food from earth to bowl; fresh, safe, and delicious. Especially in this time of pandemic, I need to assure that my guests/customers will indulge in their meal so they can trust us, trust food again, for we believe that it is a basic human right to truly eat well.
Most consumers don't see our worth as a food server or simply appreciate us, but serving the best way that we can, ensuring their safety as well as the food that they were eating while dining with us and see them enjoying it. It gives (us) fulfilment and happiness in our heart.
I know with those little things that I am doing as a food server, I take part as one of the Food Heroes. #IAmAFoodHero
We can all be a Food Hero, whether you’re a seller, a farmer, an ordinary consumer or a food server like me, we all have a part to play when it comes to our food.
We can all be Food Heroes in our own choices.”
Now, you’ve heard our Food Heroes! It’s your turn to continue to do your part and be a food hero too, every day.
The Sustainable Diner project, under Sustainable Consumption and Production, is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
The Sustainable Diner and SoilMate Project Team:
Melody Melo-Rijk, Jonna Ellaine Jordan, Lorayne Therese Roque, Alexa Jeanne Lasch, Iris Joy Abrigo, Liezl Stuart del Rosario, Kristan Gabriel Villalon, Jenette Callada, Monique Mahusay
For more information, please contact:
Melody Melo-Rijk
The Sustainable Diner Project Manager
mmelorijk@wwf.org.ph
Jonna Ellaine Jordan
Integrated Marketing Communication Specialist
jjordan@wwf.org.ph
Lorayne Therese Roque
Sustainable Consumer Specialist
lroque@wwf.org.ph
