DedpEd to expand feeding program

It’s hitting two birds with one stone.

To better address undernourishment among public schoolchildren in the country, the Department of Education has bared plans to expand its feeding program to 15 provinces and a city within the school year.

The move, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said, is also an attempt to improve the academic performance of the students, who, according to him, are the “most vulnerable” to drop out because of the circumstances.

“This is the most vulnerable group of children who have difficulty paying attention to the lessons in class because of hunger and are in danger of   dropping out if no intervention is made,” Luistro said.

The breakfast feeding program was first implemented in 1997 in Pangasinan, Bohol and Lanao del Norte.

For this academic year, the agency said that the program would be expanded to schools from the divisions   of Quirino, Zambales, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Sorsogon, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Davao Oriental, Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Kalinga, Maguindanao, and Quezon City.

At present, the DepEd estimates 63,000 schoolchildren benefiting from the program.

“Our specific objective is to ensure 85 to 100 percent attendance among the target pupils and improve their health and nutrition values and behavior,” Luistro explained.