CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – To foster a food safety culture and to assist in the provision of opportunities for out-of-school youths, the Department of Science and Technology regional office 10 grants four solar-powered vending carts to selected five out-of-school youth on November 17 at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines.
In partnership with the USAID, Education Development Center, and the Philippine Business for Education, five young aspiring entrepreneurs were provided with a Build Back Better Vending Cart with a solar panel to generate 100 watts power enough to light a bulb, run a fan, and charge a phone.
This distinctive cart also has a built-in handwashing sink with a touch- button faucet with connections to the storage of clean and wastewater. It is enclosed with a 3-sided acrylic barrier to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 and other pathogens, has blinking lights and horns for safety purposes, comes with a glass food display, gas tank with stove, trash bins, a stainless-steel tabletop, and a Food Safety Guide Infographic material.
The five recipients of the vending carts were Mr. Ryan Nicole A. Corod of Daks Café, Ms. Ma. Theresa E. Torralba and Ms. Mycamae B. Circulado of Maybel’s Food Trip, Ms. Princess Justine T. Baculio of Meals Like Mom, and Mr. Tom Luell C. Francisco of Wefresh Juice and Pastry.
The recipient OSYs have been actively participating in the activities under Opportunity 2.0 Program of USAID. They completed the Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp earlier this May and pitched their business models and actually started their entrepreneurship journeys. Furthermore, through Philippine Business for Education, they signified their interest to continue their entrepreneurship journeys with the help of the building back better vending cart of DOST 10.
The build back better description is used to highlight the design concept that is compliant to food safety and Covid-19 protocol. It is envisioned that vending carts built after Covid-19 will be like this. The build back better vending cart is one of the activities under the project, Sustaining the Food Safety Culture from Farm to Fork in Region 10.
The recipients are thankful for the assistance provided to them as they can now confidently continue on with their small business. The turn-over was also graced by DOST 10’s partners, the Youth Development Coordinator of EDC represented by Ms. Kotie Bax, and the Private Sector Officer of the PBE in Cagayan de Oro City, represented by Ms. Claire Joy Hegenia S. Cardona. (Hope Bañas/DOST10)