DSWD uses P750-M budget for day care feeding program
Helen Flores
Philippine Star
The government has allocated some P750 million to sustain the implementation of the supplemental feeding program this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said yesterday.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the budget was allocated in the 2007 General Appropriations Act so the program can be continuously implemented for school year 2007-2008.
Cabral said the Day Care Students Parents Groups (DCSPGs) in the target municipalities in Regions I, IV-A to VIII as well as in the Cordillera Administrative Region, CARAGA and National Capital Region have already received their respective fund allocation and have started implementing the supplemental feeding program.
The DSWD has also sub-allotted P256 million to these regional offices, which came from the supplemental budget of 2006.
“In Regions I, IV-A, IV-B, V, VI, VIII, X, CAR, CARAGA and NCR, the feeding program started in many areas during the opening of classes on June 4, while some local government units (LGUs) started their feeding program on June 18,” Cabral said.
The program involves providing milk and hot meals for children in day care centers in 370 municipalities in 15 regions on regular school days and even during the summer vacation.
Cabral also commended the municipalities of Jovellar in Albay, Milagros in Masbate, Quartero, Dao and Sapian in Capiz, Region VI, and Sta. Marcela in Kalinga, Apayao, CAR for being the first local government units to implement the feeding program.
Some 5,000 pupils from the 166 day care centers in these areas are now receiving milk and hot meals daily, the DSWD said.
In Metro Manila, 123,311 children in 17 cities and municipalities are benefiting from the program. The children are given milk and hot meals using available indigenous food materials that will provide at least one-third of the recommended daily energy and nutrient intake of children three to five years old.
At the start of the feeding program, the children went through a deworming process in health centers and their baseline height and weight were taken. At the end of the feeding program, the children’s height and weight will be taken again to determine how the feeding program has improved their nutritional status.
DSWD started its feeding program in November 2005, initially covering 11 regions. In 2006, the program was expanded to cover 15 regions, including NCR and Region IV-A, to serve 282,023 day care children nationwide. The children were given one kilo of rice per day that they attended the day care session.
This year, the DSWD will implement a milk and hot meal feeding program for the entire school year.
Officials of the DSWD and the Department of Education earlier said the supplemental feeding program has increased school attendance and improved schoolchildren’s health.
“Children in the program are already manifesting the social benefits of proper feeding. They are friendlier and more interactive and attend day care sessions more regularly. The children also learn the value of sharing food with other kids,” Cabral stressed.
The parents, on the other hand, learn about proper nutrition for their children, especially for those aged six months to six years, through participation in nutrition education sessions provided by a municipal nutritionist. The parents also enhance their parenting skills through sessions in Parent Effectiveness Service (PES).
“Likewise, day care parents demonstrate the value of volunteerism by participating in the program, since they are the ones who cook and supervise the feeding of their children,” Cabral said.
