LOOK: Rural Rising's "First Real Store" Is Slowly Coming to Fruition

(SPOT.ph) We've all gotta get in our greens—and for time-strapped folks in need of fresh produce, Rural Rising is a godsend. The social enterprise lets you purchase "rescue buys"—local crops in surplus, often at prices lower than what you'd find at the grocery—from small-scale farmers, making these fresh fruit and veg more easily accessible to consumers while helping farmers make a living and helping reduce food waste. Things appear to continue to  look up for Rural Rising (RuRi), as the organization has posted a teaser (slash update) on their soon-to-open physical store in Avida Towers Centera in Mandaluyong!

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Check out these photos so far of the upcoming Rural Rising store:

Rural Rising dubs the upcoming store RuRi Central, and posted photos of the ongoing installation of its signboard on their Facebook page. "It's... quite mundane news but for us it's a very big step, to put branding on the first 'real' store of RuRi," they write. "For those who were with us already since our humblest in 2020, you know that this is a giant leap... How far we’ve all come together, RuRi. Forty thousand na tayo, may store na tayo, sa Manila, may signage pa."

The enterprise shared their vision for the shop in a separate video post from October 2022—that it'd be akin to a "clubhouse" of sorts from where you can pick up your veggies, yes, as well as a place where members could congregate.

"More than a place from which disperse gulay, we need a space on which we converge members," it reads. "A [headquarters] where all the sad and happy RuRI stories would be printed, displayed and lighted. A talking space with a TEDx platform and comfy seats, long tables and free-flowing coffee. A test kitchen for any member and invited chefs to demonstrate recipes and develop products using rescue produce. A place to pickup up gulay pa rin, of course, but one where you can ask to come for a chat with anyone who is in there... This space would reflect all of us, our organization, our collective aspiration for our farmers and our country. It would emphasize what makes us unique, and any member who comes to it would be proud to say 'Wow, I am part of this'—and any visitor who finds his way here would be inspired enough to say 'Wow, I want to be part of this.'"

The Rural Rising store will be at G/F Tower 1, Avida Towers Centera, EDSA corner Reliance Street, Mandaluyong City. For more information, check out Rural Rising Philippines' Facebook page.

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