Almost 1,400 children in Camalig, Albay have started to receive “nutribun” under the Supplemental Feeding Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-5 (DSWD-Bicol).

“The feeding program is for 120 days that started over the weekend and the beneficiaries are 1,391 children aged 3 to 5 enrolled in different child development centers or daycare centers in Camalig,” Tim Florece, Camalig information officer, said in an interview on Monday.

He said the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) through child development workers distributes the nutribun to a total of 50 daycare centers in the town.

“Every Saturday and Sunday, the children will receive the nutribun and on weekdays, hot meals for the children in the centers,” Florece said.

He said the local government unit of Camalig headed by Mayor Carlos Irwin G. Baldo Jr. thanks the national government through the DSWD-5 for the program that will help improve and maintain the nutritional status of the children.

“This is a big help for our children and will give additional nutrition and health education for 120 days,” he added.

Nutribun, one of the components of the program, is a nutritious bread product designed as a convenient “ready-to-eat complete meal” being distributed to address hunger and malnutrition.

It was first conceptualized by the United States Agency for International Development’s Food for Peace program and distributed to elementary school pupils in the Philippines in the 1970s to combat child malnutrition. (PNA)