The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Davao Region represented by assistant regional director Raquel E. Nuñez turned over P63,150,600 to the City Government for the Supplemental Feeding Program (SFP) for children in the daycare centers of the city.
A check was turned over to Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag and City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) chief Maria Luisa Bermudo during the regular flag raising ceremony at the City Hall grounds.
About 34,693 preschoolers of the 695 daycare centers throughout the 182 barangays of the city are targeted for the said SFP.
This has been the sixth time DSWD XI turned over aid for the SFP through a Memorandum of Agreement with the City Government to provide for the feeding of the children enrolled in daycare centers aged three to four years old.
“This has been our working attributes for our children because we know that we have increased in numbers,” Nuñez said.
“The amount that we have for this year is 50% (more) than the amount we had in the previous turnover,” she added.
Meanwhile, Bermudo reported that this fund will be immediately cover the 120-day feeding cycle.
The CHO will prepare the menu and provide the intervention. “The City Health Office will also take part in the SFP to monitor the nutritional level of the food served to the children,” she said.
“Medical interventions, if necessary, shall be provided through the different district and barangay nutrition offices of the city,” said Bermudo.
The parents will be also assisted by the daycare workers to teach them about the nutritional values of the food they will prepare for their children.
“The monitoring of the nutritional values of food served should not be done in daycare centers alone but within the homes itself,” Bermudo added.
“The reason it is called supplemental feeding is because we do not want our kids to be severely overweight or underweight because we sometimes tend to disregard the nutritional value of the foods we provide to our children,” Bermudo furthered.
“Through the supplemental feeding program, we are able to supplement, we are able to augment to the daily needs of the children,” she said.
After the 120 feeding cycle, an evaluation of the status of the nutritional value of the kids will be done.
