The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has served nutritious hot meals to 1.084 million Filipino children in 1,619 local government units (LGUs) nationwide under its Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), putting the agency at 57 percent of its target for the year.

DSWD spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the program has maintained steady implementation since June and is targeting a total of 1.89 million child beneficiaries by the end of the year.

“Nasa 57 percent na po tayo ng ating (We are already at 57% of our) total target children sa Supplementary Feeding Program this year. In the span of two months since June, may 1,084,122 na mga bata na ang nakakakain ng masustansyang pagkain (Within two months since June, 1,084,122 children have already received nutritious meals),” Dumlao said in a statement Monday.

The SFP, also known as Batang Nutri-Care, provides nutritious hot meals and milk for 180 days to children aged 3 to 5 enrolled in Child Development Centers (CDCs) and Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP).

The program is part of the DSWD’s contribution to the government’s Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) initiative to address childhood malnutrition.

Aside from hot meals, the program provides milk and fresh milk-based products to 43,140 beneficiaries in 540 LGUs identified as priority areas with high poverty rates and a high prevalence of undernourished children.

The DSWD aims to provide milk supplementation to a total of 180,265 children.

“Tuloy-tuloy po ang ating pamamahagi ng hot meals at milk sa ating mga benepisyaryo hanggang sa huling buwan ng taon. Ang gusto po ni Secretary Rex Gatchalian, dapat sa loob ng anim na buwan ay di hamak na mas malusog at maganda na ang kalagayan ng bawat batang kabilang sa ating supplementary feeding program (We will continue distributing hot meals and milk to our beneficiaries until the last month of the year. Secretary Rex Gatchalian wants every child in our supplementary feeding program to be significantly healthier and in better condition within six months),” Dumlao said.

As of July 16, the DSWD had disbursed PHP5.31 billion for SFP implementation, equivalent to 55.57 percent of the PHP9.25-billion allocation for hot meals, milk supplementation and operational resources nationwide.

The program also engages parents and guardians through the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES), which provides caregivers with practical information on maintaining healthy nutritional practices at home.

“Parents and guardians are the primary source of knowledge in having a healthy lifestyle sa loob ng tahanan (inside homes). Dapat even after the 180-day implementation ng SFP, alam pa rin ng mga magulang kung paano mapanatili ang masustansyang pamumuhay kahit na hindi gumagastos ng malaki (parents should still know how to maintain a healthy lifestyle without spending a lot),” Dumlao said.

In 2025, the DSWD’s SFP provided fortified meals to more than 1.59 million children and milk to 106,834 undernourished children.

The program utilized PHP5.7 billion in total funding and benefited 1,481 LGUs nationwide. (PNA)