NutriBaños: Multi-flavored nutribuns that help bridge the nutrition gap in Laguna

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Many Filipinos know nutribun to be a nutrients-filled bread used in feeding programs to fight child malnutrition.

But the Municipal Nutrition Office of Los Baños is putting a unique twist on the bread which it regularly distributes to undernourished children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

Instead of the usual plain rolls, its in-house bakery produces its own version called NutriBaños, which comes in different flavors – malunggay, ube, chocolate, and pandan.

"Since kami po ay nagbibigay tatlong beses sa isang linggo sa pare-parehong mga bata, nakita po ng barangay nutrition scholars na medyo may umay factor sila (Since we distribute three times a week to the same children, our barangay nutrition scholars noticed that kids are getting bored)," Los Baños Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Madeleine M. Alforja told the Manila Bulletin in an interview on June 20.

"Kaya po nag-isip kami ng ibang option, paano nga ba maibabalik 'yung interes ng mga bata para kainin 'yung tinapay na mauubos pa rin nila. So nag-isip po kami ng flavors para ma-excite ang mga bata na kumain (We thought of options to bring back kids' interest so that they would still finish eating the bread. We thought of offering flavors to excite the kids to eat)."

The nutrition office rotates the flavors every week to give kids a chance to enjoy all varieties.

Alforja said each piece of NutriBaños is packed with vitamins and nutrients, in addition to carbohydrates and protein.

A 50-gram roll has 250-300 calories, filling up around one-fourth of the 1,000-1,200 recommended daily calorie intake for children.

Providing nutrition amid a pandemic

The Los Baños local government unit (LGU) originally planned the NutriBaños project in 2020 to cater to school children.

But due to Covid-19 and the postponement of face-to-face classes, the project was modified to provide free nutrient-dense food to undernourished kids and to offer sufficient nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life – the period spanning a mother's pregnancy to the child's second birthday.

For beneficiaries, NutriBaños is not just a dietary supplementation program but a treat they look forward to three times a week.

"'Pag nakita pa lang nila ang barangay nutrition scholars na parating na, talagang excited na 'yung mga bata (The moment they see the barangay nutrition scholars coming, the kids are excited)," Alforja shared.

"Minsan nga, nagpapa-sobra na lang kami para makatikim 'yung buong pamilya kasi meron talagang walang-wala. Usually nga 'yung iba, tumatawag pa kung anong oras darating. Part na ng meal nila 'yung NutriBaños, wala silang ibang mapagkukunan ng pagkain (Sometimes, we even provide additional buns so that the whole family can eat because some of them are really poverty-stricken. Some even call to ask what time the bread is coming. NutriBaños is already part of their meal, they do not have other sources of food)."

Compared to a regular dietary supplementation program that allots a P40 budget per child per day, a piece of NutriBaños only costs P5, including packaging, manpower, and fuel expenses.

Because of this, other LGUs have made NutriBaños a benchmark for their nutrition projects.