BUTUAN City- On Friday 12 November 2021, Ms. Lea Alegarbes, of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Caraga shared the continued Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) of the Department during the Regional Technical Working Group Meeting at the Almont Inland Resort in this city.

Ms. Alegarbes relayed that the program is needed by the growing child especially this pandemic. She mentioned that SFP was specifically intended to prevent further degradation of the nutritional status among children especially the severely underweight and underweight children.

The DSWD’s SFP is implemented to provide food in addition to the regular meals to the currently enrolled day care children 3-4 years and 2-4 years old children listed in Supervised Neighborhood Play.

Due to the threat of COVID-19, Ms. Alegarbes shared that the ration for the beneficiary is being delivered and consumed at home which makes the ration open for consumption by some members of the household. Additionally, the department identified difficulty of procuring fresh milk in the region.

Despite the challenges, Ms. Alegarbes conveyed that the department was able to coordinate available local entrepreneurs outside Caraga.

Moreover, Ms. Alegarbes relayed that the presence of the barangay nutrition scholars is helpful in the monitoring of the feeding program and nutritional status of the children.

The SFP is part of the DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care Development which was strengthened by the enactment of the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Filipino Act. #MPRayco/NASlabordo