The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is the country’s forefront poverty reduction strategy through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that provides grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition, and education, particularly for children aged 0-14 years old. It has been continuously supporting poor Filipino households all over the country. Beneficiaries from the program were able to find ways how to sustain healthy and nutritious foods for their families through “Gardening’’. Some beneficiaries from Cebu shared their stories on how they learned to grow various types of crops. They use the available lot in their barangay and use some recyclable materials to plant some vegetables in their area. They also planted some medicinal plants that can be used as natural medicine. Dried leaves, food scraps, and livestock manure were used as fertilizer to provide nutrients in order for the plants to grow healthy.

According to Burke Rehabilitation, the benefits of growing your own vegetable garden are as follows;

• Improve your health. Since you have a garden a backyard garden, you can easily consume fresh fruits and vegetables which are good for your health than buying different products that contain harmful chemicals. Children can be involved in gardening and giving them the chance to eat fresh vegetables.
• Save money. Growing your own food can help you save money. This will have significant savings on your grocery.
• Get outdoor exercise. Gardening is a good physical and mental exercise.
• Gardening is a natural stress reliever. Your body can enjoy fresh air and sunlight that can improve your mood. It can make you feel happy because growing your own food gives you a great sense of achievement.

The DSWD program was able to help the 4Ps beneficiaries in improving their quality of life through gardening.  Through their monthly gatherings, they gained relevant ways of living through food production within their respective homes. “Gulayan sa Barangay” helps to alleviate malnutrition among poor families nationwide.

NOI Kimberly Tanador, RND

Source: www.dswd.gov.ph

The Benefits of Growing a Vegetable Garden

Laura Quinn RDN, CDN Sodexo Dietitian at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital

https://www.burke.org/blog/2016/4/the-benefits-of-growing-a-vegetable-garden/83