The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has allocated PHP247.7 million for the 120-day supplementary feeding program of 82,584 children in the Ilocos Region this year.

Bulk of the funding or PHP137.5 million will go to Pangasinan for its 45,831 beneficiaries, followed by La Union at PHP42.2 million for 14,078 beneficiaries, Ilocos Sur with PHP39.3 million for 13,110, and Ilocos Norte with PHP28.7 million for 9,565 beneficiaries.

The program aims to improve the weight of the children, especially the undernourished, and to augment the nutrition programs of other agencies, DSWD Ilocos Statutory Programs Division Chief Clarivel Banzuela said in an interview Wednesday.

Banzuela said the number of beneficiaries this year is lower than last year’s 101,374, but the budget for meal allowance per child was increased to PHP25 from PHP15 last year.

“The approved funding for the program was considered as well as the statistics of enrollees in child development centers. One of the reasons the meal allowance was raised to PHP25 is the inflation, in order (for us) to provide the needed food with the right nutrition,” she said.

During the 120-day feeding program, the children are given nutritious lunches and heavy snacks.

Banzuela said the meals are based on the cycle menu the DSWD provided as guide for the meal preparations, but noted that some of the meals can be improvised based on the available ingredients such as vegetables in their communities.

She said the program for this year has not yet started, with some localities still finishing their 120-day cycle.

The DSWD would coordinate with the National Nutrition Council for the streamlining of data on the impact of the program on the nutrition of the children, she added. (PNA)