The Department of Social Welfare and Development launched the Food Stamp Program (FSP) Oct. 2 at the Cadiz City Arena, on the theme “Ending Involuntary Hunger and Malnutrition”.
The event was graced by City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., who delivered a message of support, and stressed that this is only the beginning of the program.
He assured those who were unable to avail of the benefits during the launching that they would be included in future cycles.
Escalante thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for selecting Cadiz as one of the LGU beneficiaries of the program, the city said in a press release.
He emphasized that the city’s continuous progress is due to the unwavering support of every Cadiznon, and he thanked the city officials for their hard work in creating legislations that benefit the people.
The FSP is one of the new priority programs of the DSWD. It aims to reduce incidence of involuntary hunger experienced by low-income households by providing them access to monetary-based assistance in the form of an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, which will be loaded with food credits, agency said.
“The FSP aims to provide food augmentation to the bottom one million households from Listahanan 3, who belong to the food poor criteria as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian had said during the initial rollout of the program.
The food credits can be used to purchase a combination of nutrition-rich food items from DSWD-accredited partner retailers.
To ensure that the family beneficiaries will be able to consume different kinds of healthy foods, based on the list recommended by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, the EBT card will limit how much families can purchase.
From the total amount of food credits, P1,500 (50 percent) will be allocated to purchase carbohydrate-rich foods, such as rice and bread; P900 (30 percent) are for proteins, such as chicken or pork; and P600 (20 percent) for vegetables, fruits, oil, salt, or other condiments, the DSWD said.
Aside from addressing hunger, the Food Stamp Program will also enable beneficiaries to become productive citizen since they will be required to participate in capacity building and training to improve their employable skills.
The DSWD said 300,000 families will comprise the beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program during its full-scale implementation, which started July, in 21 provinces in 10 regions, including Negros Island.
The rollout in Cadiz was also attended by Vice Mayor Lilia Decolongon, councilors John Vincent Escalante, Marlon Metoda, Lalen Lamis, Frances Guanzon, Kathrina Kaye Gustilo-Balbin, Fria Cristine Cervantes-Napiza, Sheila Tabanao, Maricel Desuyo, and CJ Nido Olvido, and Paulene Decolongon, among others. ||
