Valenzuela City Mayor Weslie "Wes" Gatchalian led the relaunch of the citywide feeding program at Apolonia F. Rafael Elementary School in Barangay Mapulang Lupa, Valenzuela City on Tuesday, March 14.
Meal packs prepared by Valenzuela City Central Kitchen for Kinder to Grade 6 at Apolonia F. Rafael Elementary School (Diann Calucin/MANILA BULLETIN)
According to Gatchalian, the K to 6 (Kinder to Grade 6) Valenzuela Citywide Feeding Program was halted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was initially launched 11 years ago under the administration of former city mayor and now Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian.
The program aims to eradicate malnutrition among elementary students in the city's public schools.
The city government had already fed 67,716 children under the program since 2012.
“Hanggat makakaya ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, hanggat may pondo, tuloy nating hahanapin ang mga estudyante nating nangangailangan ng tulong. Iyong mga hindi nakakakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw at kulang pa ang nutrisyon na ibinibigay sa loob ng kanilang tahanan (As long as we can, as a city, as long as we have fund, we will continue to reach the students who need our help. Those who can’t eat proper and adequate meals three times a day at home)," the mayor said in his short address.
Valenzuela City Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad-Borja thanked the local government's partners in implementing the program, including Ateneo Center for Education Development (ACED), the city school division, elementary school principals, feeding coordinators, food suppliers, and kitchen volunteers.
An oath-taking ceremony was also held for 18 mothers who volunteered as kitchen helpers for the program.
Gatchalian also distributed health cards to the children, where parents can write the medical and feeding records of the beneficiaries.
Health cards given to parents of the beneficiaries for feeding attendance (Diann Calucin/MANILA BULLETIN)
The mayor required the parents to monitor the beneficiaries' feeding attendance for 70 days, from March 6 to June 16.
He said those who will complete the feeding attendance will receive Jollibee gift vouchers.
Signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and ribbon cutting were also held by the city mayor, vice mayor, and councilors to formalize the program's relaunch.
He added that over 4,600 children will receive food packets from Monday to Friday, and milk packages every Friday until June.
Valenzuela City Health Office head Dr. Marthony “Ato” Basco said the meals they distributed to children were prepared in Valenzuela City Central Kitchen, where nutritionists compute the nutritional status of the beneficiaries.
"Kung sila ay malnourish or severely wasted na tinatawag natin, mas dinadagdagan natin 'yung kanilang nutritional content ng sa gayon ay tailor-made ang atin pong nutritional build-up sa mga bata (If they are malnourished or severely wasted as we call them, we increase their nutritional content more so that our nutritional build-up is tailor-made for children)," Basco said.
He said the beneficiaries underwent medical check-ups and were also weighed three times to determine the needed nutrition for the meal distribution.
The city's health department also conducted lecture sessions about food safety and nutrition.