Poe assures funding for feeding program of malnourished kids

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER file photo / ARNOLD ALMACEN

No child should go hungry again with the signing into law of the National Feeding Program aimed at combating malnutrition, Senator Grace Poe said on Wednesday.

Last June 20, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11037, which institutionalized a national feeding program for undernourished children in the country.

READ: Duterte signs law creating feeding program for undernourished kids

“Hunger strikes to the very core of our humanity. Children, most especially, will find it hard to understand why they do not have food to eat because the reality is they have a right to nutritious food,” Poe, one of the bill authors, said in a statement.

The senator also said she would ensure that the law would be infused with the funding it deserves “to make it come to full life and make its impact on the children.”

Poe also said the passage of the law was an acknowledgment that adequate food and good nutrition are paramount to a child’s ability to grow healthy and to succeed academically.

“When we feed them well, we don’t only nourish the young’s body, but the mind as well,” she added.

Poe said the law would not only act as a safety net for students suffering from malnutrition, but would also cushion the impact of the high prices of food.

RA 11037 establishes a national feeding program for undernourished children in public elementary school, kindergarten and day care centers.

The feeding program will be implemented in three components, according to Poe:

• School-based Feeding Program: Undernourished children from Kindergarten to Grade 6 will be given at least one fortified meal for not less than 120 days in a year. This will be carried out by the Department of Education.
• Supplemental Feeding Program for Day Care Children: Undernourished children from 3 to 5 years of age in day care centers will be given at least one fortified meal for not less than 120 days in a year. This will be implemented by local government units and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
• Milk Feeding Program: Fortified meals and cycle menu are to include fresh milk and fresh milk-based food products, to be implemented by the Department of Agriculture, Philippine Carabao Center and the Cooperative Development Agency. /jpv