One of the most difficult tasks for homemakers is budgeting, particularly in the current economic downturn and pandemic era where everyone is concerned about how to increase the family budget to fulfill all of the family’s needs.

In the Philippines, the cost of basic commodities and nutritious food continues to rise, making it more challenging for the majority of Filipinos to maintain a balanced diet.

With this, PAGEONE in partnership with the country’s most followed Chef Myke “Simpol” Tatung, launched “Goolai vs. Gulay: Educating Homemakers About Alternative Sources of Nutrition,” an online nutritional awareness campaign to help Filipino homemakers achieve a healthy life without sacrificing their nutrition.

According to the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), the average Filipino family spends nearly half of its resources per month on food. In 2018, the data analytics group Kantar stated that Filipinos spend a third of their budget on fresh and packaged food and less on basic service necessities and other social services.

For the first time ever, the Philippine peso exchange rate fell to an all-time low of PHP 59 versus the US dollar. As a result, the prices of basic goods and imported commodities have increased by almost 12%.

Amidst this background, the PSA reported that 1.04 million families or 6.55 million individuals experienced food insecurity in 2021, a higher number than the 840,000 families or 5.54 million individuals recorded in 2018.

In order to handle this recurring issue from the consumer’s perspective, PAGEONE and Chef Tatung forged a partnership to educate house members on how to sustain their daily food consumption by learning which expensive vegetables may be replaced with less expensive ones while maintaining the same nutritional value.

Inspired by everyone’s favorite kitchen buddy, Chef Tatung, known for his easy homecooked meals with upscale recipes, will be giving some tips on how to gravitate towards local flavors in a fun and nutritious way for Filipino families.

Embodying the panlasang Pinoy, Tatung shared, “Alam mo kahit you cook with the simplest ingredients and you treat it well, magiging masarap yung pagkain niyo.”

“In cooking, adjust lang kayo kung anong meron diba. But remember, no amount of passion will replace common sense in cooking,” Tatung added.

With this in mind, the campaign will primarily target homemakers who regularly go to the market to buy food produced in “tingi” or small proportions. Through the “Goolai vs. Gulay” campaign, PAGEONE aims not only to help raise awareness about how to cook nutritious food but also to help generate savings for their next meals.