DSWD sets healthier food aid for storm evacuees

‘LUGAW’ LINE Evacuees form lines for a hot bowl of porridge at Malanday Elementary School in Marikina City on Wednesday, one of the first places to brim with families fleeing to safety as the Marikina River swelled to alarming levels due to rains brought by Typhoon “Carina.” —Grig C. Montegrande

MANILA, Philippines — Even before the number of evacuees fleeing the effects of Typhoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) rose on Wednesday, the government had made plans to include more nutritious ingredients in the meals and food items to be delivered to families staying in the shelters.

It will try to improve on the usual fare of relief goods consisting of rice, canned goods, and powdered drinks—items making up the “family food packs” (FFP) prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for its calamity response.

READ: Over 10,000 families in NCR evacuated due to Carina – DSWD

Aside from the FFP, the DSWD will also distribute “ready-to-eat” meals of higher nutritional value, both to tide the families over and address any incidence of malnutrition among the children to make them less vulnerable to illnesses during their stay in the evacuation centers.

READ: Foreign missions offer aid as Super Typhoon Carina batters PH

Proposed menu

“Right now what we’re using is FFP (family food packs)… What we want next—and is already in the procurement process—is ready-to-eat meals,” Gatchalian said in one of the sessions held by the government on Tuesday to expound on the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22.

The meals will “complement” and not replace the FFPs provisionally, said Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, also of the DSWD.

At the same session, Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the DSWD’s ready-to-eat meals would include iron-fortified rice, nutribun with vegetable flavors, pancit canton with squash, and rice-mongo instant blends, among others.

This combination is based on the findings of a national nutrition survey conducted by his agency, Solidum added.

45,000 families affected

“Essentially, these [studies] would look at available commodities that can be converted into something [nutritious],” Solidum said.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, the DSWD said a total of 45,328 families, or 91,062 individuals from 10 regions, including Metro Manila, had been affected by the heavy rains and flooding caused by Carina as it enhanced the southwest monsoon or “habagat.”

At least 1,702 families, or 6,524 individuals, have been moved to evacuation centers, the agency said.

Outside the capital region, among the most affected were Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and the Cordilleras.