CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 will start next month a feeding program in 39 local government units in Central Visayas.
Among the beneficiaries of the program which will be done twice a day for 120 days are 19 municipalities in Cebu, 18 in Bohol, and two in Siquijor.
The LGUs were selected for the pilot implementation after being identified by the National Nutrition Council as priority areas.
Dr. Parolita Mission, nutrition program coordinator of NNC-7, said that these areas were selected based on the LGUs’ undernutrition rate.
"Makatabang kaayo ang maong programa but dili lang feeding ang intervention. It's just one of the many. Kuyogan ni sa uban interventions as proposed in the Philippine Plan of Action in Nutrition," Mission said.
The feeding program will benefit 1,144 day care centers, 58 supervised neighborhood playgroup and 46, 300 children in the three provinces.
The government has allocated P83.3 million for the program.
Melinda Cañares, focal person of DSWD-7 Supplemental Feeding Program, explained that the budget per meal is still P15 per child per day, P11 of which is for the viand while the P4 is for the rice.
SFP is the provision of food in addition to the regular meals. The food supplementation will be in a form of hot meals to be served during snack/meal time to children five days a week for 120 days. —/FPL (FREEMAN)