The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reaffirmed its commitment to ramp up its efforts to address food insecurity through the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) following the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that noted a slight increase in the number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger.

“Since the beginning of the Marcos administration, we have been clear with our intentions to end hunger in the country. We acknowledge that this is a challenge that needs a whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach as we continue to scale up the Walang Gutom Program by broadening its reach and tapping partners who can help up with this endeavor,” Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, the DSWD’s spokesperson, said on Monday (June 30).

Currently, the DSWD supports 300,000 food-poor households or around 1.5 million individuals by providing monthly food assistance worth Php3,000 per family through the WGP.

“As Secretary Rex Gatchalian often emphasizes, ending hunger may be difficult, but it is possible. The DSWD is still in the right track of reaching 750,000 food-poor families by 2027. We are prioritizing the provinces and communities with the highest rates of food insecurity,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao stressed.

The SWS survey, conducted from April 23 to 28, noted that 20 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.

Last year, Globe Telecom commissioned the SWS to conduct a survey on the WGP. Results showed that among WGP program beneficiaries, the share of households experiencing ‘moderate’ hunger dropped by 4.1 percentage points —from 48.7 percent in October 2024 to 44.6 percent in December. This is in contrast to the 6.1 percent hunger rise among non-beneficiaries of the WGP which stresses the impression that the improved conditions of WGP beneficiaries can be directly connected to the anti-hunger program.

Asst. Secretary Dumlao also noted other initiatives being done by the DSWD to alleviate hunger and malnutrition such as the Walang Gutom Kitchen and the Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP).

“The operations of the Walang Gutom Kitchen remain open to serve hot and nutritious meals to individuals and families in street situations. The DSWD already has plans to expand this community kitchen in the future after its pilot implementation in Pasay City to minimize food wastage and provide meals to those in need,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.

With the start of classes, the SFP is expected to serve 1.5 million children aged 2 to 4 years who are enrolled in supervised neighborhood play (SNP), and children aged 3 to 5 years enrolled in child development centers (CDCs) for school year 2025-2026.

As the lead agency of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) and co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH), the DSWD has consistently convening partner agencies to ensure alignment with national priorities and initiatives in reducing food insecurity around the country. (AKDL)