MANILA — All kindergarten students from public schools will receive free daily meals through the Department of Education’s expanded School-Based Feeding Program (SBFD). The program, which provides meals for undernourished students, has been expanded to include all students in kindergarten “to combat early childhood malnutrition.” “Kapag may sapat na nutrisyon ang mga bata, mas madali silang matuto. Hindi natin kailangan hintayin pang magutom o magkasakit sila bago kumilos,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said. The Food and Nutrition Research Institute, in 2021, recorded that 18.1% of girls aged 0 to 5 and 15.8% of boys of the same age group are malnourished.
Meanwhile, malnutrition is also present in 19.2% of girls aged 5 to 10, and 22.2% of boys of the same age group. Around 3.4 million kindergarten and severely wasted and wasted grade 1-6 learners will receive the meals through the program, said DepEd. The agency added that P14 billion budget was proposed for the program in 2026. “Bawat magulang, school officials, LGUs, at barangay health worker ay may papel para siguraduhing hindi lang basta nakakakain ang mga bata, kundi talagang nabubusog, inaalagaan, at nabibigyan ng lakas para umunlad,” said Angara. The education department reported that the number of severely wasted kindergarten children was reduced from 113,451 to 47,281 through SBFD, improving energy levels, class participation, weight gain, and overall health.
The rate of undernourishment among Kinder learners also fell by 80% in Region II and XI, the agency added. DepEd said that it plans to further expand the program to grade 1 to 3 learners, and ink partnerships with local farmers through home-grown school feeding models. The Department of Health earlier said that it is also determined to reduce malnutrition rates, calling on the local chief executives to accommodate their localities’ needs.
