Gov’t provides supplemetary feeding to pre-schoolers

By Aurora J. Casimpan

Friday 13th of July 2012

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, July 13 (PIA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Eastern Visayas has allocated P126.14 million for the provision of food and regular meals to children enrolled in day care centers run by local government units (LGUs) in the region.

The Supplemental Feeding Program (SFP) aims to improve the nutritional status of children with age range of three to five years old.

DSWD Regional Director Leticia Diokno said the budget allocation for the supplementary feeding program is P12.70 per child per day for 120 days. She said that children beneficiaries are weighed at the start of the feeding and continued on a monthly basis to ensure that the children’s nutritional status has improved.

Some 106,000 pre-schoolers in 3,918 day care centers have benefited from SFP. The program which started in September 2011 provided children with hot meals composed of fortified rice and viand for six months.

The program which in part is DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Program is a three-year cost sharing program between the national government and provincial governments providing for the implementation of programs that improve the health, nutrition and education outcome of children.

Around 133 LGUs across the region have partnered with DSWD in the implementation of the supplementary program. (EOT/AJC,PIA-8)