#GROWChallenge creates waves in Trinoma: Celebrities, mallgoers, netizens commit to Grow, Share & Live Better


Reema Chanco, Tuesday Vargas & Tado Jimenez hosting the event.

More than a thousand Filipinos committed to grow, share and live better through Oxfam’s #GROWChallenge online campaign which was launched at the Trinoma Activity Center. Using the hashtags #EatBrownRice, #BuyLocal, #ReduceFoodWaste, #SaveWater and #ConserveEnergy, Filipinos took photos of themselves responding to at least one of the calls under the #GROWChallenge and posted their commitments in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The #GROWChallenge is part of Oxfam’s global GROW campaign which envisions a world where everyone has enough food to eat.

Oxfam celebrity ambassadors pitched for each of the #GROW challenges: Mikael Daez for Eat Brown Rice, Stephanie Zubiri for Buy Local, Tuesday Vargas for Save Water, Erwan Heussaff for Conserve Energy and multi-awarded actress Cherry Pie Picache for Reduce Food Waste.

the host asking some questions to the audience in exchange for prizes.

“When Oxfam launched the GROW campaign two years ago, our aim was to engage more Filipinos on the issues which GROW tackles. We believe that through this online campaign - #GROWChallenge, each of us can take action and be part of the solution towards achieving food justice in a resource constrained world. The #GROWChallenge seeks to encourage everyone to take concrete yet simple steps so that our resources – food, land, water, energy will still be available and enjoyed by future generations,” says Kalayaan Pulido-Constantino, Acting Country Director of Oxfam in the Philippines.

Multi-awarded actress Cherry Pie Picache who is the “face” of the #ReduceFoodWaste call says, “As a mother, I am the one who prepares our meals. I make sure that our household does not have food wastage by planning our meals ahead of time and buying what we only need.” 

Take the Grow Challenge!

In his testimony during the launch, Kapuso actor Mikael Daez admits that he eats brown rice not just for its health benefits but also because it helps the country to be rice sufficient. “I eat brown rice because it improves our country’s rice production. It also helps our farmers because it lowers their production costs. Brown rice entails one time milling process while white rice which takes two milling process.”

Restaurateur and chef Stephanie Zubiri admits that since she started as an Oxfam ambassador two years ago, she became more conscious of the ingredients she uses whenever she cooks, she says, “I only #BuyLocal because it helps our small food producers in their livelihoods. Also, locally grown food travels shorter distances from the farm to distribution outlets, and stays shorter period in storage houses. Thus, locally grown foods are fresher and tastier.” 


Food blogger and triathlete Erwan Heussaff believes that in a country where power crisis is regularly experienced especially in Mindanao and has electricity rates that are high, every Filipino must think of ways on how to be energy efficient at home. “In my condo unit, I’ve switched to more effective lighting. I am also conscious of switching lights off when not in use, and unplugging electric cords after I use them.”

Comedian and TV5 host Tuesday Vargas says, “Filipinos should save water because not everyone has access to safe and potable water. In our home, I am conscious of water leaks and pipes to reduce the amount of water being lost through leaks.”

Fans, mallgoers, students, advocates trooped to the different booths by participating organizations to learn more on each of the challenges and to have their photos taken with each ambassadors. Cultural singer Bayang Barrios performed songs fresh from her latest album.



The #GROWChallenge is part of Oxfam’s GROW campaign, a campaign for better ways to grow, manage and consume food. It is a campaign for the billions of us who eat food and over a billion of men and women who grow it, to share solutions for a more hopeful future in which everyone always has enough to eat.

The event was held in partnership with Trinoma and participating organizations DAKILA, GLOWCORP, PHILRICE, BIOS DYNAMIS, GAIA Philippines, Miriam College ESSI, PKKK-PATAMABA, PRRM and WWF.

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