The Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program is all set for full-scale implementation in July, ready to serve 300,000 target families.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Edu Punay earlier announced they have been able to hire staff for the 10 regions or 21 provinces the program will initially aid.
The Food Stamp Program's pilot implementation started in December 2023 and is due to end this month.
In an exclusive interview with DZRH's Maynila Ito Ang Pilipinas with Leth Narciso, DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the pilot implementation includes Tondo, Manila; Dapa, Siargao; San Mariano, Isabela; Garchitorena, Camarines Sur and Parang in Maguindanao.
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The scale-up will carry out Executive Order No. 44 made last year, which states Walang Gutom 2027 is a flagship program of the national government. Various agencies will be supporting it, such as the Department of Budget and Management.
The recently finalized program design has evolved with "significant inputs" from presentations with the President and "significant findings" from the pilot implementation.
The pilot beneficiaries have also given positive feedback about the program, especially in how it has taught them to identify, choose, and prepare healthful foods.
The beneficiaries chosen are those at the bottom 1 million food-poor households on the DSWD's list. This is what personnel are currently validating in the ongoing process of adding beneficiaries.
The priority areas determined are Regions 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, CARAGA, and Metro Manila. The 300,000 households are distributed among these areas.
The program's goal is to prevent hunger, as well as malnutrition, in marginalized communities. It is meant to aid its beneficiaries in rising above the poverty threshold and achieving food security by ensuring they are healthy, and will eventually "land in gainful employment or jobs" as "productive members of the community."
Additionally, the program was made to address the issues of stunting and a "digital divide" among the poor.
The Food Stamp Program will have nutrition sessions, wherein beneficiaries are provided with food baskets or menus made in coordination with the National Nutrition Council. Dialogue with local stakeholders helped in creating a "diverse range [of] food options" that are affordable and nutritious to "promote [a] well-balanced diet."
Program partners in authorized retail outlets or Kadiwa stores know what the beneficiaries are supposed to buy. The Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards, loaded with 3,000 food credits monthly, also indicate what products are allowed for the purchase and automatically deny purchases not on the food menu.
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries will not be counted in the Food Stamp Program. They are already given rice subsidies and conditional cash.
The DSWD's objective is to cover the 1 million food poor by 2027, so the Food Stamp Program will continue to support the new 300,000 beneficiaries until its conclusion.
