Students of Umapad Day-care Center in Mandaue City enjoy their meal provided by the supplementary feeding program of the DSWD. (CONTRIBUTED)
As part of its commitment to improve the Early Childhood Care and Development Program (ECCD) program of the government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) is targeting 121,419 children in Central Visayas to benefit from its supplementary feeding program (SFP).
Cebu province has the most number of children beneficiaries with 86,912 followed by Bohol Province with 32,052 and Siquijor with 2,455.
SFP is the provision of food in addition to regular meals. The food supplementation in a form of hot meals will be served to children during snack times or mealtimes five days a week for 120 days.
DSWD-7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said SFP targets children 2-5 years old who are under supervised neighborhood playgroup or enrolled in public day-care centers.
She added that the feeding program would be managed by the parents based on a prepared meal cycle using available indigenous food supplies in the area.
“Children beneficiaries will be weighed at the start of the feeding program and 60 days thereafter and after the completion of 120 feeding days to determine improvement and sustenance in their nutritional status,” Macapobre explained.
The department has a total fund allocation of P222,519,000 for the school year 2016-2017 in the region.
Of the fund, P152,437,560 will be transferred to the different local government units (LGUs) in the region for the viand, while the remaining allocation will be coursed to the National Food Authority for the rice requirement.
Earlier, some P16 million was allocated for the purchase of measuring tools distributed to the selected LGUs.
Meanwhile, the DSWD-7 has also opened a breast-feeding station in support of this year’s nutrition month celebration with the theme “First 1000 days ni baby pahalagahan para sa malusog na kinabukasan.”