31 May 2022, Ozamiz City (Dr. Caroline Marie Aruelo  and CNAO Lelita Navarez) - Undernutrition in children has been linked to many adverse outcomes, including disease vulnerability, delayed development, and poor academic performance. Poverty also significantly impacts children’s nutritional status because it leads to food insecurity.

To combat malnutrition, the Barangay San Antonio Nutrition Club in Ozamiz City was organized in partnership with Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center - Department of Family and Community Medicine (FAMED MHARS) and in cooperation with the Ozamiz City Nutrition Committee. Among the major activities of the club are regular medical consultation, health and nutrition classes and weekly dietary supplementation to the identified underweight and severely underweight 6-59 months preschool children in the barangay.

Because it is equally essential to sustain food security at home, a livelihood project involving the beneficiaries of the nutrition program was conceived.  The club members were taught how to make different kinds of kakanin like Cassava Cake, Biko, Palitao, Kutsinta, Sapin-sapin and Puto Cheese which they initially sold to their peers.  Active members received 100% of the net income.

Although the project began in June 2021, it was not until October of that year that it gained popularity, particularly the now best-selling Creamy Cassava Cake. Furthermore, on February 8, 2022, the livelihood project was formally launched online as MAMA’s BEST at IBA PA, catering to orders from a larger audience in Ozamiz City.

“Our goal is to establish a livelihood program in which members learn, practice, and develop skills that they may use in their future pursuit while earning, thereby ensuring a steady flow of income to help in their household financial sustenance,” said the project organizer Dr. Caroline Marie Aruelo.

MAMA’s BEST at IBA PA is still going strong amid the pandemic.