Poor people can’t just do it and here’s why.
According to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in the first half of 2014, the Poverty Incidence among “Filipino individuals” was 25.8% while the Poverty Incidence among “Filipino families” was 19.9%. It means that one of four Filipinos experienced poverty during that period. What does it mean by being poor? According to the Office of the President website, “To be poor means earning less than P16,841 a year”.
This post is aimed to awaken our imagination about the reality happening in our country. Yes, it is difficult to prioritize others particularly on the foods that are supposedly for us – our family. And if we think of marketing and social networking, posting foods online is not at all a bad idea. It’s a part of life. We eat on restaurants, food chains, karinderya, Mami-han, Goto-han, canteen, at home, at work sites, on our cars and it’s because we can afford to buy or order foods for ourselves. But when was the last time you took photos of foods and captioned it this way: “Food we gave to…”.
Think about this.
Connecting poverty and posting of food photos on social media seems too hard to figure out. This post just did it. This blog is written to commemorate Philippines’ National Nutrition Month - July and to encourage people to share foods to the poor and the needy.
According to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in the first half of 2014, the Poverty Incidence among “Filipino individuals” was 25.8% while the Poverty Incidence among “Filipino families” was 19.9%. It means that one of four Filipinos experienced poverty during that period. What does it mean by being poor? According to the Office of the President website, “To be poor means earning less than P16,841 a year”.
On the Photo: Filipino "Karinderya" Foods
Are you poor?
May God bless you if you are. You need blessings from above.
I shared the above statistics for one simple reason – there are poor people who can’t eat three (3) times a day. They skip their meals. Well, compared to other third-world countries, it’s even worst. In the African region, people die because of starvation. To that extent, Filipinos are still lucky. But to the extent of being a citizen of a country having P2.6 trillion budget in a year, all of us should have complete day-meals.
May you or your family members find a better job or better source of income if you do earn that amount. That’s only enough for a kilo of NFA rice and a can of sardines each day. Divide it to five family members and then by 3 - for 3 meals a day. If you’re a rich guy reading this statement – I know you’re getting the message.
It’s alarming. It’s terrible. Do you know the feeling of being hungry at 12 noon with no breakfast at all? One of four people you’re seeing on the street feels that. That’s the truth.
Many of us feel good about taking photos of the food we eat – cheap or expensive. For whatever reason – just for fun or being proud or a promotion, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we have expressed ourselves about the food we ate or about to eat by sharing them on Facebook or Instagram. There is nothing wrong with that - only if we captioned it right.
I shared the above statistics for one simple reason – there are poor people who can’t eat three (3) times a day. They skip their meals. Well, compared to other third-world countries, it’s even worst. In the African region, people die because of starvation. To that extent, Filipinos are still lucky. But to the extent of being a citizen of a country having P2.6 trillion budget in a year, all of us should have complete day-meals.
Do you earn less than P16,841 a year?
May you or your family members find a better job or better source of income if you do earn that amount. That’s only enough for a kilo of NFA rice and a can of sardines each day. Divide it to five family members and then by 3 - for 3 meals a day. If you’re a rich guy reading this statement – I know you’re getting the message.
It’s alarming. It’s terrible. Do you know the feeling of being hungry at 12 noon with no breakfast at all? One of four people you’re seeing on the street feels that. That’s the truth.
Many of us feel good about taking photos of the food we eat – cheap or expensive. For whatever reason – just for fun or being proud or a promotion, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we have expressed ourselves about the food we ate or about to eat by sharing them on Facebook or Instagram. There is nothing wrong with that - only if we captioned it right.
Do you post photos of pizzas, burgers, Italian cuisines, exotic dishes, European menus, etc. on your social media page?
You’re lucky because poor people can’t do that. Obviously, they have no digital cameras to capture the images. But that’s not the point. The point is they have no social media accounts. Would you still ask why majority of poor people have no social media accounts? Needless to explain, taking photos of foods and then posting them on social media is the least thing running on the top of their minds. You can ask them.
This post is aimed to awaken our imagination about the reality happening in our country. Yes, it is difficult to prioritize others particularly on the foods that are supposedly for us – our family. And if we think of marketing and social networking, posting foods online is not at all a bad idea. It’s a part of life. We eat on restaurants, food chains, karinderya, Mami-han, Goto-han, canteen, at home, at work sites, on our cars and it’s because we can afford to buy or order foods for ourselves. But when was the last time you took photos of foods and captioned it this way: “Food we gave to…”.
Think about this.
When sharing food photos online, does it mean you’re also sharing that food to someone?
The answer is No, right? Who says Yes? Thank you.
Connecting poverty and posting of food photos on social media seems too hard to figure out. This post just did it. This blog is written to commemorate Philippines’ National Nutrition Month - July and to encourage people to share foods to the poor and the needy.
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About the Author
Noriel Panganiban is a blogger. He's been blogging for years about his observations of the Filipino's way of life in the Philippines. Since 2011, he's been inspiring readers in sharing their contributions for positive changes in the Philippines. Explore more this blog to discover more about Noriel's campaign of Changing Everything "Bad" into "Good" here in the Philippines.
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