Food-for-School program gains success in Lanao Norte

Food-for-School program gains success in Lanao Norte

by Lorry V. Gabule

Iligan City (24 March) — The implementation of the Food-for-School Program (FSP) has gained ground in Iligan City.

The program, which is spearheaded by Department of Education (DepEd) as an immediate intervention to address hunger among families through their children enrolled in public elementary schools, involves allocating one kilogram of rice to Grade I pupils every day.

Sapia Madali of Zone 3, Barangay Bagong Silang and mother of Hannifa-a, a Grade 1 pupil enrolled at Bagong Silang Elementary School, lauded the government’s mitigating measures.

As long as my child goes to school every day, my family is also assured of rice on our table every day, said Madali, who is a solo parent of five children.

“Through the FSP, the one kilogram rice daily ration brought by my child from the school helps us a lot. So I encourage Hannifa not to be absent from her classes because I explained to her that aside from learning her lessons, she could bring home food too,” she said.

She added that her daily income is not sufficient to meet the needs of her children, especially on food.

Madali thanked the efforts of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for mobilizing line agencies to implement the program and reaching out to the poor.

For her part, Remilda R. Smith, Bagong Silang Elementary School Health Coordinator said that during school year 2008, then six-year old Hannifa weighed only 14.5 kilograms during the school’s Operation Timbang.

“But now, she weighs 18 kilograms,” she gladly reported.

Hannifa used to be a frail and pale looking child but she’s now an active pupil and participates in classroom activities, said Smith.

She also acknowledged the support extended by other entities in support to the government’s immediate intervention to address hunger, such as the Mother Ignacia Center for Social Responsibility of the St. Michael’s College (SMC) which was able to tap the Jollibee Foundation through its sister company Chowking for their supplemental seeding dubbed “Busog, Lusog, Talino Program” (BLT) recently. (PIA-Lanao del Norte)

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