Ma. Romilene Padilla (left), nutritionist dietician III and program focal person of DSWD-7, says that the feeding program will start on July 31, 2022, and will last for 120 days or until November 27, 2022. | Contributed photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — About 144,157 children in Central Visayas will receive food supplies from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas or DSWD-7, through the agency’s Supplementary Feeding Program.
Ma. Romilene Padilla, nutritionist dietician III and program focal person, said that the feeding program would start on July 31, 2022, and would last for 120 days or until November 27, 2022.
The program aims to ensure the nutrition and health of every Filipino child, especially malnourished and underweight children.
Beneficiaries in the program are those enrolled in daycare centers ages 3-5 years old.
“Kani ang atong programa mao kini ang paghatag og additional nga pagkaon sa mga bata nga na-enroll sa daycare center. Kining mga bata, kini ning giila nga ubos og timbang. Mao gyud ni sila ang hatagan nato og priority,” Padilla of DSWD-7 said.
(Our program is one where we give additional food to the children who are enrolled in our daycare centers. These children, these are identified as low in weight. These are the children that we are giving priority.)
Before the agency would give food supplies to children, Padilla said that they would first get the weight of every child enrolled in the program.
They will continue monitoring them, and by the end of the program, they will weigh them again to see their improvement in nutrition.
For this year, Padilla said that they would be distributing champorado, macaroni soup, squash okoi, egg humba, bihon guisado with beef loaf, and misua guisado with tuna. Most of them are less perishable food items.
Padilla also said that they checked the nutritional content of each food item, to ensure that a child would get the proper nutrition required in their age group.
“Mag-lecture sad ta sa mga parents as social preparation kalabot sa parent effectiveness session ug nutrition education,” she added.
(We will also give a lecture to the parents as social preparation for the parent effectiveness session and nutrition education.)
Aside from this, the agency, in coordination with the National Dairy Authority (NDA) and Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), will also distribute additional milk rations to 18,393 children in selected local government units (LGUs) in the region with a high incidence of malnutrition.
In Cebu, among the local government units (LGUs), who will receive milk ration, are Alcoy, Boljoon, Samboan, Santader, Daanbantayan, Sta. Fe, Pilar, Tudela, Alcantara, Ginatilan, Malaboyoc, and Ronda.
Other LGUs, who will receive the milk rations are Alburquerque, Corella, Cortes, Sikatuna, Clarin, Dagohoy, San Isidro, Anda, Batuan, Lila, Loay, and Sevilla in Bohol; Jimalalud, Mabinay, San Jose, and Sta. Catalina in Negros Oriental; and all the LGUs in Siquijor.
Padilla said that DSWD-7 had allocated P15 per day for each child on their hot meals and P19 per day for each child on their milk ration.
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