BY: JENNNIFER D. SAYONG
BURAUEN, Leyte- The Department of Education, through the School Health Division-Bureau of Learner Support Services implemented the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) for school year 2018-2019 to address under nutrition and short-term hunger among public school children.
And one of the beneficiaries of this feeding program is the Catagbacan Elementary School which is under the Burauen North District, Division of Leyte, this town.
Airen R. Modina, the school feeding coordinator, identified 25 pupils from Kindergarten up to Grade VI who were identified either as waster or severely wasted.
The school provides daily heavy lunch with malunggay (horseradish or moringa), mongo (mung beans), and kalabasa (squash) as the main ingredients mixed with chicken or ground pork or fish.
The children are to be fed for 120 days during this school year. The budget is P18 per child per meal.
The meals are prepared by the parent of the recipient, supervised by the feeding coordinator and the school head, Jennifer D. Sayong.
The feeding coordinator follows the low-cost and balanced menus for and each feeding recipients are given vitamins daily.
Health practices are being observed during feeding, hand washing and tooth brushing are also enforced.
The school has complementary activities such as deworming, food production, waste segregation and composting, integration of good grooming and personal hygiene which was integrated in some subject areas.
Through this supplementary feeding program, the schools established and maintained the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) as a source of ingredients for the SBFP and encouraged the families of the beneficiaries to have their own home gardens so that nutritional improvement is maintained at home.
This program will greatly help improve the nutritional status of pupils, attendance and performance in school. (Note: The author is the head teacher I of the Catagbacan Elementary School in Burauen, Leyte)
