A total of 106, 209 children in day care centers managed by 133 local government units (LGUs) of the region are part of the Department of Social Welfare and Welfare and Development (DSWD) Supplemental Feeding Program that is good for a period of 120 days.

The program will soon be fully operational, with ten more municipalities to follow, to complete the total 143    LGUs. DSWD Field Office Eight Regional Director Leticia Corillo emphasized that there is weighing of the children before the start of program, and a monthly weighing, to check on the progress of their weight.

However, she said, the feeding is only in additional to their regular meals at home. It will be done during break time in the morning or in the afternoon, five times in a week.

Corillo cited the important role of parents in the preparation of hot meals consisting of rice and available indigenous food materials, based on a prepared menu cycle. The parents purchase the food items that is equivalent to Php 10.00 per child per day, while rice is bought by the DSWD from the National Food Authority (NFA) that is equivalent to Php 2.50 per child in a day.

More than the feeding, the parents are made to attend nine sessions on Self, Family and Parenting, Health and Nutrition, Love of Country and Home, and Environment, DSWD Regional Director said.

Per last week’s report made by the Regional Nutritionist, Pauline Nadera, to DSWD Central Office, it was stated that cooking utensils will be ready for distribution this month to the municipalities and cities. On the other hand, the memorandum of agreement between the DSWD and the NFA has been finalized so that the latter’s provincial warehouses will now start issuing rice to the areas, through the Social Welfare and Development Team (SWADT) leaders who are field workers of the DSWD.

The program aims to combat malnutrition and is part of the Department’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Program of the national government.