‘Kusina ng Kalinga’ food-for-school program launched

NORZAGARAY, BULACAN—Undernourished school children will soon get lunch packs containing healthy meals of locally produced vegetables, courtesy of a cement company’s “Kusina ng Kalinga” program.

Republic Cement, which operates plants in this town, is offering free lunches to 1,500 pupils at Banahaw Elementary School in Barangay San Mateo, Apugan Elementary School in Barangay Bigte, and Bigte Elementary School and Timoteo Policarpio Central Elementary School in Barangay Minuyan for school year 2018 to 2019.

Nabil Francis, Republic Cement president, said 14 percent or as many as 490 of 3,700 pupils in the four schools were malnourished, based on a recent survey.

The company launched the feeding program following Francis’ signing of an agreement with Guillermo Flores, Department of Education schools supervisor, and Juan Luis Oquiñena, executive director of Gawad Kalinga, on Wednesday.

The program was also launched in Taysan, Batangas, where the company also operates a plant.

In Bulacan, locally produced vegetables and livestock would be used for recipes like monggo con malunggay guisado, malunggay con tuna and  malunggay con patola.—CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE