Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Monday disclosed that he would be working with the different agencies involved in the government’s Zero Hunger Task Force to retool initiatives such as its feeding programs as government continues to grapple with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the Cabinet Secretary assured the public that the government would work to continue food programs that target Filipino children, adding that “the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak “compels us to revisit government food security and nutrition programs as we now have to factor in the challenges brought about by this pandemic.”

“We have to look at our programs from top to bottom––from planning to implementation––because we will have to do things differently under current conditions,” Nograles said. “For example, we may need to re-operationalize the Supplemental Feeding Program in Day Care Centers through the provision of nutritious food packs. Instead of hot meals, day care students can be provided with nutritious food packs which may include vegetable noodles (malunggay/ squash/ carrots), rice, and nutribuns, among others.”

Nograles – who is also the chairman of the government’s Task Force on Zero Hunger — said food packs can be distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in close coordination with barangay day care centers.

He added that with face-to-face classes now on hold because of the COVID-19 outbreak, government would have to figure out how to safely implement the Department of Education’s (DepEd) School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP), which targets underfed school children.

“With these students now forced to stay home, we will have to get creative and adopt mechanisms so that we can continue to reach out to the program’s beneficiaries. We may need to bring the program to the communities of these students to make it work,” said Nograles.

At present, almost two million malnourished Filipino children benefit from government-sponsored school feeding programs.

“In the distribution of rations, LGU can prioritize these households through barangay registries or with data from public schools and ensure that these families have adequate and healthy meals for their children,” Nograles said.

He cited that stunting and inadequate nutrition are the focus of National Nutrition Month, which is observed July of each year. (Daily Tribune)