The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) has been allotted a budget of P3.7 billion in the 2023 National Expenditure Program.
The DBM said P3.1 billion will be allocated for regular feeding to cover 1.8 million children beneficiaries enrolled in child development centers, P360 million for milk distribution to 157,968 malnourished youngsters, and P181.9 million for administrative costs.
“Madalas natin marinig na ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan, kaya naman dapat natin tiyakin na ang mga bata, lalo na iyong mga nasa formative years, ay hindi malilipasan ng gutom,” DBM Sec. Amenah Pangandaman said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has stated in his budgetary message the “need to continue to address malnutrition in infants, toddlers, and children.”
In 2021, a total of 1,685,170 children were assisted by the program for undernourished children aged three to five years old.
The program is through Republic Act No. 11037 or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act” aimed to to combat hunger and undernutrition among Filipino children.
The DSWD is the lead agency in the program implementation of the SFP.
-AG
