A two-day Planning Workshop on the School-Based Feeding Program was conducted recently at the Regional Education Learning Center. It was attended in by school implementers which includes School Heads, Feeding Coordinators, and School Bids and Awards Committee members.Representing the Department of Social Welfare and Development was Ms.Sheryl N.Ave, the Regional Nutritionist & Dietitian.
The Department of Education recognizes the importance of good nutrition to the improvement of academic performance of learners. It is considered to be a sound investment in education as it is associated with increased enrollment, improved attendance, better performance , decreased repitition, and decreased dropout. Hence, DepEd proposed in the 2014 Budget a School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP)and was approved by President Aquino.The said feeding program will cater to a targeted 562, 262 severely wasted school children from Kinder to Grade 6 nationwide.
The SBFP shall be implemented in partnership with the local government units, non-government organizations, civil society organizations. Budget for the said Feeding Program shall be lodged with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The feeding program is expected to start this July 2014 and many preparatory and planning activities are needed to be done at the Regional and Division levels, one of which was this planning workshop wherein the Operational guidelines for the program was presented .
In Region 10, there will be an estimated 17,529 children to be fed starting this July . It is expected that with the feeding program, children will have improved nutritional status, improved school attendance , and decreased dropout rate among the elementary and secondary students.
The School Based Feeding Program aims to provide hot meals to the children within a 120- day period. Following the developed, standardized recipes using malunggay, along with the 20-day cycle menu utilizing locally-produced and/or grown foods, beneficiaries are assured of an additional 300 calories per day to address their nutritional deficiencies.
Written by Sheryl N.Ave & Mitzie Santiago,DSWD