^{The Department of Education (DepED), through the Health and Nutrition Center (HNC), launched a new school health program which seeks to address both malnutrition and academic performance of elementary school children in selected schools nationwide.}

Dubbed as “Food for School Program,” this initiative is designed to address basic food and socio-economic needs, as well as promote self-sufficiency among Filipinos.

According to HNC Director Thelma Santos, “The program specifically aims to improve school attendance and academic performance of Grades I and II pupils; mitigate hunger and prevent further decline of nutritional status of learners through short-term food subsidy scheme; provide livelihood/employment opportunities to parents of beneficiaries; prepare and enable families to undertake family and community-oriented activities; and instill relevant values and attitudes toward work learners, their families and communities.”

Under the program, each recipient child will be given a ration of one kilo of rice each day for 95 days in five months. The rice shall be distributed daily before the elementary graders go home in the afternoon to motivate them to go back to school the next day. However, if the child is absent, no substitute will be allowed to collect the pupil’s rice ration from the school. Record of pupils’ acceptance of their rice ration will be reported by the teacher and attested by the school principal.

^{Recipient schools, Santos said, were selected based on the following criteria: high incidence of families living below subsistence threshold level; high prevalence of malnutrition among Grade I and II pupils; and high drop- out rate.}

The Food for School Program is expected to benefit 50,000 schoolchildren and their families in depressed and underserved communities across the country.  This health program shall be initially implemented in the National Capital Region, Region II and Region IV-A.

^{Santos further said that DepED shall tap appropriate agencies in the conduct of capability building on livelihood opportunities intended for target family beneficiaries. These include the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), Nutrition Center of the Philippines (NCP) and non-government organizations. (Florelyn Morada, EID)}