The past few months have been a challenging time for almost everyone. Developing countries, vulnerable communities, and already at-risk individuals took a huge hit economically. Amid all the strife, it is, however, good to see seemingly ordinary folk step up and become unsung heroes in their own right.

Along with the praise and support that we give our frontliners--the medical and healthcare professionals, the police and military peacekeepers, and all the other support units that strive to keep our lives as normal as possible--we should also thank our humble bakers who, through the efforts of Pilmico Flour, were able to help ease the burden of said frontliners through their breads and pastries.

*Bread produced by Pilmico’s* “PanadHeroes” *played an essential role in feeding communities and frontliners who needed them the most at the height of the nationwide-community quarantine.*

*Bread produced by Pilmico’s* “PanadHeroes” *played an essential role in feeding communities and frontliners who needed them the most at the height of the nationwide-community quarantine.*

Evimei Reyes, proprietor of Rovi and Rev Bakeshop in Negros Oriental, is one of Pilimico’s PanadHeros--bakers who answered the call to help make bread and pastries to feed our hungry frontliners.

“I saw a Facebook post [from Pilmico] calling for bakeries to support frontliners,” Evimei shared. “So, I immediately contacted [Pilmico’s] Mark Daruca without hesitation,” she continued.

She added that it was a way for her to give back to the community as she was also a beneficiary of kindness--of someone just giving her a chance to bounce back. As a widow of 11 years, with two lovely children, Evimei is no stranger to struggle.

A story of paying it forward. Evimei Reyes, one of Pilmico’s PanadHeroes, said that she knows what poor families are going through right now because she’s been there. Knowing how it feels to be given hope in a time of struggle, Evimei says she wants to do the same for those who are in need.

“Working hard was the only choice for me to survive,” she said. She decided to start a bakery business with whatever money she had left. From this, she was able to grow her business through determination, hard work, and a little help from Pilmico. Through Pilmico’s training and grant programs for small and medium bakeries, Evimei was able to take her business further.

Even before the pandemic struck, Evimei has also been running her bakery’s own charity project called “Just Share a Little”. Ever since it started in 2014, the charity project has fed many people in schools, penitentiaries, and other communities in need.

Evimei is just one of the many bakery operators under Pilimico’s PanadHero program. The nationwide effort distributed a total of 665,000 pieces of bread as food relief to communities in need and frontliners nationwide.

Together, amid social distancing. Evimei is one of the first to join in Pilmico’s bread donation drive which started in March 2020. By the end of the campaign, Pilmico was able to produce and distribute 665,000 pieces of bread as food assistance to frontliners.

The PanadHero program provides the participating bakeries with flour and other materials that they need to bake bread, which will be donated to frontliners and other people in need of nourishment.

“Being a food company, we knew from the start that it’s critical for Pilmico to be at the forefront of relief and feeding efforts. At the start of the community quarantine, we immediately mobilized our teams and provided assistance to these communities, especially the ones we operate in,” said Joeben Gamatero, II, Pilmico’s Vice President for Brand and Marketing, and head of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) group.

“We were fortunate that, over the years, we’ve built an excellent relationship with many bakeries across the country, who have owners and operators just as passionate as Evimei in helping others. With the help of our very own PanadHeroes, it became easier to act on our group’s mission, which is to feed humanity,” Gamatero added.

For more information regarding Pilmico’s PanadHeroes you may visit https://www.facebook.com/PilmicoFlour.