Gulayan sa Ugsaran intensified to sustain feeding program
The City Nutrition Office (CNO) has intensified the Gulayan sa Ugsaran program in every household especially with those children who are considered malnourished or underweight, to ensure the sustainability of the city feeding program.
City Nutrition Action Officer (CNAO) Nancy A. Adalin said that having a vegetable garden at home is one of the effective ways to address hunger and can also help solve health problems. By submitting to the said program, every family can ensure that the vegetables eaten are fresh and free of chemicals. Apart from this, not only daily food resources can be met but it can also provide a livelihood to the family, as they can also earn from selling vegetables.
As the cases of severely underweight preschoolers in the City of Koronadal increased last year (2020) due to the pandemic, the local government immediately intervened through its 90 days supplementary feeding program. However, Adalin said that such initiative is not enough to finally riddle out such issue since it is not a long-term solution.
While intensifying the “Gulayan sa Ugsaran Program” , parents with poorly nourished children also undergone mother’s classes where they were taught on how to properly prepare nutritious food that highlight the importance of eating green vegetables, legumes and fruits not only for the children but for the entire family. Such activity has also been made an annual contest as part of its accentuation and to challenge the concerned parents as well.
Aside from home gardening, the CNO also created the so-called “nourished a child initiative” wherein the city has partnered with several private sectors to provide assistance to children with weight problems through wet feeding.
Meanwhile, Adalin said that now that the fight against the pandemic is still ongoing, her office wants to focus not only on the nutrition of young ones but also on adults and will likely start with the city hall employees.