Over 2.5 million schoolchildren are enjoying the nutritional benefits from the milk feeding program, jointly implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Agriculture through its National Dairy Authority (NDA) and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC).
“We will strongly pursue and continue this worthy investment of the Duterte administration to make our children, their children, and the succeeding generations of Filipinos healthier, stronger, and smarter,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
“We, therefore, commend the DepEd and our OneDA family — led by the NDA and PCC, in tandem with our Regional Field Offices — for the favorable outcome of the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) milk component for School Year 2020-2021,” said Secretary Dar, during the 29th meeting of the IATF Task Group on Food Security (TGFS), held virtually, on August 12, 2021.
The DepEd said the NDA and PCC have supplied 75 percent (%) of the target milk volume for the current year, according to Dr. Maria Corazon Dumlao, chief of DepEd’s Bureau of Learner Support Services-School Health Division.
In particular, she said that from April 6 to 28, 2021, the DA-NDA has supplied 46% of the total milk requirement, benefitting 1,540,087 children, ranging from kindergarten to Grade 6, under various School Division Offices (SDOs) in the country.
Meanwhile, the DA-PCC has also supplied milk rations, benefitting 974,022 students or about 25% of the total DepEd’s target beneficiaries.
The remaining 822,275 schoolchildren, under the milk feeding program for SY 2020-21 will likely receive commercial powdered or sterilized milk from other sources, Dumlao added.
In all, the DepEd targets to milk-feed this school year 3.3 million students in more than 34,000 public schools nationwide.
“The DA will continue to partner with the DepEd, including local government units and civic society organizations willing to sponsor similar milk feeding programs in their respective areas to benefit more Filipino children nationwide,” said Secretary Dar.
“As we conduct more milk feeding programs, we also support and expand the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and their families who are members of carabao and dairy cattle associations across the country,” the DA chief added.
Last school year, Dumlao said a total of 3,138,223 children benefitted from the milk component of the SBFP, almost double its target of 1.7 million beneficiaries.
Of the total milk supplied, 81% came from the NDA and PCC, benefitting 33,760 schools, said Dumlao.
The joint DepEd-DA milk feeding program complies with Republic Act No. 11037, or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act,” signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, on June 18, 2020. The program was later integrated into the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. ### (Kuhlin Gacula, DA-StratComms)
