Nutrition month may be over but pupils from selected public elementary schools and children from a chosen community will be continually blessed with healthy lunch meals for 150 days, sponsored by Tagum Cooperative in partnership with the Department of Education and the National Commission on Indigenous People.
The feeding program is dubbed as Hot Lunch Plus intended for wasted and severely wasted children with the aim of improving both the nutritional and scholastic standing of the beneficiaries. Wasted or low weight for height as defined by UNICEF are children who lack the proper food (or acute starvation) needed for them to grow.
Recipients are from Suawan Elementary School in Calinan, Davao City; San Jose Elementary School in New Corella, Davao del Norte; New Balamban Elementary School in Magdum, Tagum City; Sto. Tomas Elementary School in Davao del Norte; and Sitio Talos, Sto. Tomas Davao del Norte. Each recipient has 40 beneficiaries who are served with nutritious food based on the approved meal plan.
Previously, Tagum Cooperative has only provided for 120 days but has extended it to 150 days to maximize the provision for proper nutrition. The Hot Lunch Plus Program is a tripartite partnership between the cooperative, parents and teachers. Tagum Cooperative
provides the reasonable budget for the program with strict monitoring guidelines. Parents are the ones who prepare the meals based on standard health procedures. Teachers shall report the improvements in both weight and academic performance of the beneficiaries.
Dr. Josephine L Fadul, Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Davao del Norte, emphasizes on the importance of eating proper food to gain the proper weight especially for growing children. “When they eat enough, they are also able to learn fast in school. Hence, more chance for them to excel. That is why Tagum Cooperative and the Department of Education are teaming up on projects like Hot Lunch Plus to help these children”, Dr. Fadul notes. Datu Domingo Tumaytay of Sitio Talos also expresses his heartfelt gratitude for Tagum Cooperative for being one of the recipients of Hot Lunch Plus 2018. “We, in Sitio Talos are very thankful for this project. Even when you had to walk and travel for a few hours just to get here in our place. We do not get a lot of attention because our place is not very accessible, so we are thankful for your help,” Datu Tumaytay states.
Hot Lunch Plus 2018 is one of the many community development initiatives done by Tagum Cooperative to give back to the community where it operates, in line with the 7th Cooperative Principle: Concern for Community.