DepEd to continue feeding program for 1.7M students amid COVID-19 pandemic, says exec

The Department of Education (DepEd) will continue its feeding program for 1.7 millions student-beneficiaries amid the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a press conference on Monday, DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said the feeding program will be customized depending on the public health situation of schools.

“Kung dati nagluluto ang teacher at mga magulang, tapos ang mga bata habang nasa eskuwelahan ay kumakain, ngayon, ito ay ide-deliver sa bahay,” Sevilla said.

“Depende sa public health situation ng ating mga eskuwelahan. So kung ano ang compliant sa minimum health standard,” she added.

Sevilla explained that the conduct of the feeding program may have different processes for different schools or even students.

She added that local government units and parents will be consulted during the implementation of the program.

Sevilla said the budget for the feeding program was reduced by 7.72% in the 2021 National Expenditure Program, from P6.475 billion in 2020 down to 5.975 billion now. — RSJ, GMA News