SunStar Editorial: Pantry of conundrums
LESSONS IN CIVILITY. Nearly two weeks in its evolution, the community pantry offers insight and inspiration to those who once saw the pandemic as asphyxiating the Filipino spirit. (SunStar file)
+ April 25, 2021 THERE seems to be a need to update the Wikipedia entry on “pantry” after the Philippines pioneered its revolutionary version of the “community pantry.”
Since the medieval age, pantries in Europe and America stored food, drink and other valuables like the family’s silverware. Wealthy families hired their own pantler, who ran a well-stocked pantry, a gauge of status.
In contemporary times, the pantry has been replaced by the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets and shelves for storage. Conscious of a family’s needs and resources, a housewife or husband still keeps the stocks of food and drink, if no longer under lock and key, at least under a watchful eye.