The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Thursday the nutrition education sessions being attended by beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) boosts the country’s fight against hunger and malnutrition.

During the opening ceremony of the WGP Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge at the Alicia Community Center in Alicia, Isabela, Undersecretary Edu Punay of the DSWD’s Innovations and Program Development Group said the WGP aims to promote nutrition and behavioral change among beneficiaries through nutrition education sessions.

“Gusto nating ipakita sa programang ito na mahalaga ang nutrition education sessions, kung saan natututunan ng ating mga benepisyaryo ang tamang nutrisyon, pati na rin ang mga malikhaing paraan ng paggamit ng mga sangkap na maaari nilang makuha mula sa food redemption process (Through this program, we want to show the importance of nutrition education sessions, where beneficiaries learn the value of proper nutrition, and the innovative use of ingredients that they can procure through the food redemption process),” Punay said, quoting the message of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian during the cooking competition.

Attendance to the monthly nutrition education sessions is one of the conditions for WGP beneficiaries for them to regularly receive their PHP3,000 monthly food credit.

The WGP Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge is an innovative strategy of the agency to promote nutrition and healthy eating habits among beneficiaries of the program and their families.

The cooking contest highlights the culinary skills of the WGP beneficiaries as they prepare dishes using ingredients gathered from the program’s food redemption activities.

But more than the contest to pick the best cook, the cook-off challenge aims to show the importance of nutritious, tasty, and affordable food for every Filipino family, Punay said.

“We also want to send the message that one does not need to buy expensive ingredients to cook tasty food. Using cheap ingredients does not also mean that it is not nutritious,” he added.

The five teams who topped the provincial competition competed again in the regional culinary challenge. They were given 45 minutes to prepare a dish using identified ingredients.

The “ginataang suso with gabi, crispy kangkong, and dynamite” prepared by WGP beneficiaries Rosalinda Marquez and Christine Versoza from the municipality of Alicia garnered the highest score of 83 percent.

They will represent the Cagayan Valley region in the National Cook-Off Challenge.

The DSWD’s WGP, created through Executive Order 44, aims to reduce the incidence of involuntary hunger experienced by Filipinos from low-income households.

The program targets to reach 750,000 food-poor families by 2027. (PNA)