FIGHTING HUNGER. A vegetable garden in Baybay City, Leyte province with some of its harvest intended for the feeding program in a nearby school. The project is meant to fight hunger in poor communities. (Photo courtesy of DSWD Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development has launched two Zero Hunger (ZH) Program initiatives in Baybay City, Leyte province.
Two sustainable livelihood program (SLP) associations have been tapped to focus on urban vegetable production in the vicinity of Punta Elementary School and rice retailing in Villa Soledad village, DSWD said in a statement Friday.
“The Punta Gulayan Association will share 25 percent of their harvest with a nearby school through a feeding program. The vegetable garden is a site where said learners will conduct visits for their Edukasyong Pantahanan at Panghabuhayan classes,” it said.
The rice retailing business will sell affordable staple food to occupants of a housing project of the National Housing Authority in Villa Soledad village intended for Super Typhoon Yolanda survivors.
Earlier this year, the DSWD launched the ZH program in Merida town, Leyte province; Ormoc City, also in Leyte; and Libagon town, Southern Leyte province.
The program aims to end hunger and ensure that enough nutritious foods are available to the people by 2030. One of its objectives includes ending all forms of malnutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.
The ZH initiative is part of DSWD’s SLP, a capacity building program which provides opportunities to the vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities to enhance their livelihood assets and capacity to utilize their resources more productively. (PNA)
