EARLY this week in Iloilo City, over 300 underweight students of Mandurriao National High School were fed with nutritious food and given folic acid and de-worming tablets. It was the National Nutrition Council’s way of kicking off the observance of July as Nutrition Month in coordination with the Department of Education and Department of Health. This year’s Nutrition Month theme is “Kumain nang wasto at maging aktibo…push natin ‘to!”
Malnutrition is intertwined with poverty but really, there are practical ways to address the problem; all it takes is patience and industry. Creating vegetable gardens in communities, for example, is one effective way to address hunger and malnutrition, especially in the poorest barangays.
To effectively reduce hunger, malnutrition and poverty, we have to provide our citizens the kind of support that will have long-term effects. The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s family development seminars for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries can include lectures on eco-friendly practices such as the creation of vegetable gardens in homes, schools and barangays. The department can include environmental consciousness and care for nature in these seminars and teach families how to create vegetable gardens in every home. For those without available land, we can promote vertical gardens using recycled bottles, plastic containers and cans to plant herbs and vegetables.
There’s also a pending bill in the Senate mandating the establishment of vegetable gardens in all primary and secondary schools. Schools will be required devote a portion of their campus for the cultivation of vegetables and other nutrient rich plants as identified by the Department of Health. Schools that do not have available land may use other possible gardening methods with the assistance of the Department of Science and Technology. Vegetable gardens in schools can be the source of food for feeding programs. Feeding programs are power tools in alleviating short-term hunger and enhancing the learning capacity of children.
The participation of parents and other members of the community in the conduct of educational programs related to nutrition education, basic pest management, food preservation techniques, composting and environmental conservation, among others, must be encouraged.
In boosting food self-sufficiency, we improve people’s nutrition by ensuring that they are able to fend for their basic needs.
