TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, July 10 (PIA)--The National Nutrition Council (NNC) here promotes the importance and benefits of food gardening in this year’s Nutrition Month celebration with the theme “Ugaliing Magtanim, Sapat na Nutrisyon ay Aanihin”.
According to NNC-OIC Nutrition Program Coordinator Maria Gisela Lonzaga, food gardening refers to an intimate, multi-storey combinations of various trees and crops, vegetables, fruits and herbs, sometimes in association with domestic animals, primarily for domestic consumption and secondary for additional household income.
Lonzaga said the nutrition month celebration this year also advocates sustainable food gardening among families, communities and even in workplaces to promote diet diversification, reduce food poverty and increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits that is essential in addressing micronutrient deficiency or lack of vitamins and minerals among the population.
She said that based on the result of the 7th National Nutrition Survey, about 7 out of 10 households (67.7%) practice food gardening at home.
“Majority of households with home gardens (79.1%) utilize their produce for personal consumption, while only 17.6% were able to sell their produce,” she added.
According to Lonzaga, food gardening helps improve nutritional status, household food security, increase availability of food and better nutrition through food diversity, increase local biodiversity, alleviate food shortages during disaster, increase household income, offer opportunities for women, youth, elderly, and the disabled, foster community mobilization, and health intervention.
“Let us continue our actions to support the key messages of our nutrition celebration throughout the year. Let us always remember that nutrition should not only be a month-long endeavor but a daily habit,” Lonzaga added.
Meanwhile, Tuguegarao City District Superintendent Aida Talamayan said the quality of food that we eat is critical to our general health.
“We have to regulate our meat intake. In schools, teachers need to integrate in their lessons proper nutrition to highlight our month-long celebration,” Talamayan said.
The official added that a healthy people make a healthy society, and when pupils are healthy, they perform better academically. (ALM/MDCT/PIA-2)
