Gov’t expands school feeding to fight stunting in students

Education Sec. Sonny Angara

MANILA, Philippines — Amid rising child stunting rates, President Marcos and Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Wednesday rolled out the expanded School-Based Feeding Program at a school in Bulacan, providing meals for Kindergarten and Grade 1 students.

The program launched at Pulilan Central School will benefit 775 learners, including all 294 Kindergarten pupils, 369 Grade 1 students and acutely malnourished learners from Grades 2 to Grade 6.

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In a statement on Wednesday, Angara said the program serves as a long-term response to rising child stunting, citing data from the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), which showed child stunting has increased again after a decade.

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According to the DOST-FNRI findings, stunting among children under five rose to 25.3 percent, or one out of four children, an increase of about 1.7 percentage points from 2023.

READ: Study: 1 in 4 Filipino kids under age 5 stunted

Decisive commitment

“Every percentage point represents a Filipino child whose potential is being compromised,” Angara said.

“This expanded feeding program is our decisive commitment to reversing these numbers and ensuring that our learners have the foundation they need to thrive in the classroom and in life.”

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During the event, Angara and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed a Joint Administrative Order to strengthen the long-term implementation of the program, formalizing the collaboration between their departments.

READ: Child stunting surge highlights urgency of House nutrition bill – Dy

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The National Dairy Authority and the Philippine Carabao Center also pledged support for the School-Based Feeding Program’s milk-feeding component.

The program was launched as the country marks Nutrition Month this July.

At the same time, Angara also distributed school bags and storybooks to Grade 1 learners to support literacy and learning recovery.

Funding for the school bags and learning materials came from the Office of the President, while partner publishers donated the storybooks and the Department of Education covered printing costs.

The expanded school-based feeding program supports the implementation of Republic Act No. 11037, which aims to improve the health, nutrition and academic performance of Filipino students.

Not enough milk

Meanwhile, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, who co-chairs the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom2), told the Inquirer the Philippines is “still capacity building to become self sufficient in the production of milk.”

He said that storing and delivering fresh milk to children without spoilage is another issue, prompting proposals during Edcom2 hearings for alternatives such as powdered milk.

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But National Dairy Authority administrator Marcus Antonius Andaya said that if demand for milk goes up, farmers would be “more willing to expand production, improve herd quality, and upgrade their operations.” /cb