Students of Umapad Elementary School in Mandaue City enjoy a free meal from Jollibee in this file photo. Government has its own program as part of efforts to improve the nutritional status of children.
SCHOOL-BASED FEEDING PROGRAM
The Department of Education (DepEd) has allotted P74.74 million for Central Visayas region for the second tranche of the implementation the school-based feeding program.
In a department order issued on December 9, Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro, FSC ordered the release of a total of P1.4 billion for the nationwide implementation of the program for school year 2015-2016.
The program will benefit 1.09 million learners from Kindergarten to Grade 6 in public elementary schools nationwide.
Of the total, 532,752 are considered severely wasted and 627,403 wasted.
In Central Visayas, a total of 61,960 students will benefit from the program this school year.
In his order, Luistro noted that the updated Nutritional Status Baseline Report for this school year counted a total of 1.86 million undernourished learners.
The feeding program, which DepEd implements through the Health and Nutrition Center, aims to address undernutrition and short-term hunger among public school children.
Short-term hunger is a period of hunger experienced by children who have inadequate breakfast and/or walk long distances to school.
In a previous department order, Luistro said the program targets to rehabilitate at least 80 percent of the 1.09 million beneficiaries to normal nutritional status at the end of 120 feeding days.
Secondarily, the program aims to increase classroom attendance to 100 percent from the current 85 percent and improve the school children’s health and nutrition values and behavior.
Under the program, the learners are given meals with malunggay for 100 to 120 feeding days. Each meal should provide the child with at least 300 calories.
A core group, composed of teachers and parents, will carry out the feeding program.
To provide ingredients for the meals, all schools are mandated to establish a Gulayan sa Paaralan program while the parents of the beneficiaries are encouraged to have their own vegetable gardens at home.