Higher funding pushed for kids’ free meals

NUTRITION CHECK Teachers record the height and body mass index of pupils at Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in San Andres, Manila, as the Department of Education prepares the baseline nutritional status assessment of students for the school-based feeding program. —RICHARD A. REYES

Sen. Grace Poe on Saturday reiterated her call for a higher funding for the supplementary feeding program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for 2024, from the proposed P4 billion to P6 billion.

She said the government should ensure that the program would be “more accessible and efficiently distributed” to ensure the nutritional needs of Filipino kids in public daycare are met.

“The funding for nutritious meals for our toddlers and kids is always worth fighting for in every budget season. Hopefully, with the budget, we can make the program more accessible and efficient,” she added.

Poe issued the call as she supported the Senate’s proposed higher funding for the DSWD’s supplementary feeding program, which has 1.8 million beneficiaries this year. —Melvin Gascon