In support of the government’s nationwide food security program, mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has donated #PlantSmart kits to Bayanga National High School (BNHS) in Cagayan de Oro (CDO). Located in the hinterlands of CDO, the project aims to sustain the implementation of the schools’s ‘Gulayan sa Paaralan Program’ (GPP). 

“Under our #PlantSmart advocacy, we motivate Filipino families to grow their own edible garden or establish sustainable community ‘plantries’ to secure food for the home,” said Kristine Joyce Magadia, Smart Manager for Livelihood and Nutrition Programs.  

Each planting kit contains vegetable seedlings, loam soil and fertilizers, to help beneficiaries jumpstart their own vegetable garden. In the case of BNHS, growing an edible garden also benefits not only its stakeholders but the community it serves as well.

Rey Tabios, BNHS GPP coordinator, said, “We are happy that Smart shared these planting kits with us.  With the GPP, the teachers and members of our community will be able to harvest vegetables for their families and help support our feeding programs, too.”

PLDT and Smart seek to uplift and improve the overall physical and mental wellness of Filipinos through programs that ensure food security, improve nutrition, and create awareness online. These projects also emphasize their commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG No. 2: Zero Hunger, and SDG No.3: Good Health and Well-Being.