More than 470 undernourished children from the municipalities of Laurel and Talisay, Batangas have benefitted from the four-month long Enhanced Nutribun (e-Nutribun) Feeding Program implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and its partners.

The DOST-Calabarzon reported that the program has 473 children-beneficiaries from the two municipalities.
Of these, 253 were from the Municipality of Laurel, Batangas, and the remaining 220 children beneficiaries were from the Municipality of Talisay, Batangas.
“Relative increase in the weight of the children-beneficiaries were recorded upon completion of the feeding program,” the DOST-Calabrzon said in a statement.
Other significant results observed from the children beneficiaries were their increased attentiveness, activeness in daytime activities, and craving and excitement for e-nutribun, it added.
The DOST-Calabarzon said parents of the beneficiaries also shared how e-nutribun helped them ensure that their children receive the required nutrition from the food they eat.
The feeding program is a partnership project of the DOST- Calabarzon through Provincial Science and Technology Center-Batangas (PSTC-Batangas), CDO Foodsphere Inc., and Odyssey Foundation, Inc. (OFI).
The program which started in August and ended in November this year was aimed at addressing malnutrition among children in Laurel and Talisay, Batangas. A closing ceremony for the feeding program was held on Dec. 10 at the Municipal Hall of Laurel, Batangas.
The DOST said CDO Foodsphere Inc. through OFI became interested in extending aid to the undernourished children from the two municipalities affected by the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption after adopting the e-Nutribun technology of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of DOST (DOST-FNRI).
It was the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of each municipality that helped DOST-Calabarzon, CDO Foodsphere Inc. and OFI identify the program beneficiaries.
The DOST said the municipalities of Laurel and Talisay were identified as project sites upon considering their need for interventions after the Taal Volcano eruption in 2020.
CDO Foodsphere Inc. through OFI teamed up with DOST Calabarzon under the agency's “Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology for Disaster-Stricken Areas in Batangas Province”.
The project sought to help the two municipalities attain socio-economic recovery through science and technology-based interventions.
The DOST-Calabarzon, CDO Foodsphere Inc., OFI, and beneficiary LGUs inked a memorandum of understanding to formally seal the partnership.