DSWD: 300,000 Filipinos benefit from anti-hunger program in 2024
MANILA, Philippines — Around 300,000 Filipinos benefited from the “Walang Gutom Food Stamp Program” of the government in 2024, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Saturday.
DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said the program that aims to address involuntary hunger targeted to serve one million “food-poor” Filipinos last year.
“We’re scaling it up, last year we already on-boarded 300,000 out of the one-million target so tuluy-tuloy iyon (it is continuous),” Punay said in a news forum in Quezon City, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office.
The program was introduced in 2023 where an electronic transfer card loaded monthly with P3,000 worth of food credits is provided to “food-poor” families nationwide.
Article continues after this advertisement“Target noon is to address involuntary hunger talaga, iyong mga kababayan nating mahihirap, pinakamahihirap na hindi kumakain nang sapat sa isang araw – ibig sabihin, kumakain once or twice a day lang, hindi kumpleto iyong kanilang pagkain,” Punay added.
Article continues after this advertisement(The target is to address involuntary hunger, our fellow citizens who are poor and do not eat enough – those who eat only once or twice a day.)
Punay said that the DSWD is targeting to serve 300,000 beneficiaries this year and 400,000 more in 2026 to complete its target of one million by 2027.
The agency launched its first “Walaang Gutom” Kitchen under its Pag-abot program on December 16.
The kitchen serves as a food bank where hotels, restaurants, and fast food chains can donate food that is not consumed for the day but is still edible and safe for consumption.
In its statement released on Dec. 16, the DSWD explained that the anti-hunger initiative is a public-private partnership.
“Anyone na basta nagugutom – mayroon din iyong mga construction worker na mga low income, walang pambili ng pagkain, iyong mga empleyadong low income, mga residente na walang pambili ng pagkain. They can just walk in there. Open iyong kitchen to everyone na nagugutom,” Punay stated.
(Anyone who experiences hunger — construction workers, employees, and residents who can’t afford to buy food. They can just walk in there. The kitchen is open to everyone who experiences hunger.)
The kitchen is located at Nasdake Building in Pasay City.
