The Department of Education (DepEd) is set to roll out its PHP25.6-billion School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) for school year 2026-2027.

To signal the nationwide scale-up, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., together with Education Secretary Sonny Angara, recently visited Jose Zurbito Sr. Elementary School in Masbate City to provide nutritious meals to learners.

The DepEd is also set to bring the program closer to urban communities with a multi-service school engagement on Wednesday at Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, where feeding activities will take center stage.

The event will also feature a Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair for Senior High School graduates, Gulayan sa Paaralan visit, and a lecture for learners on energy conservation to promote responsible energy use.

The funding for the school-based feeding program —more than double the PHP11.8 billion allocated in 2025 —aims to provide a lifeline to 4.63 million learners starting this June.

For the upcoming school year, the SBFP will sustain children for 200 feeding days, a significant leap from the 120-day cycle implemented last year when the program reached 3.39 million students.

In a statement on Tuesday, Angara said the program is more than nutrition but also about “restoring the dignity and academic potential of every Filipino child.”

“We are fulfilling President Bongbong Marcos’ directive to end the cycle of malnutrition in our schools by giving our learners the health to reach their goals,” he said.

The SBFP will target universal feeding of Kindergarten to Grade 1 learners, undernourished Grades 2 to 6 learners, pregnant adolescent learners, and vulnerable and marginalized learners beyond Grade 6.

By extending feeding to 200 days, the Marcos administration is embedding nutrition into the basic education framework, moving beyond short-term relief to guarantee long-term learning readiness. (PNA)