One week into school opening, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will intensify the implementation of its Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) nationwide to ensure that day care children are well-nourished as they attend classes.

SFP is the provision of food, in addition to regular meals, to currently enrolled day care children as part of DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) program of the government.

The SFP is also DSWD’s contribution to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

For 2014, the DSWD is targeting a total of 1,778,274 children in 53,463 day care centers in 1,630 local government units (LGU) nationwide.

The additional hot meal a day is composed of  rice and nutritious viands (meat/fish/ vegetables) prepared by the parents organized as Day Care Service Parent Group, with the supervision of day care workers and Municipal Social Welfare and Development  Officers (MSWDOs).

In preparing the menu, the day care workers consider the inclusion of vegetables mostly preferred by day care children.

The child-beneficiaries will be weighed at the start of the feeding program and three months thereafter. After the completion of 120 feeding days, the improvement in their nutritional status will be determined. ### see related story: (How to involve parents in school feeding programs)