DSWD eyes expanding 鈥榃alang Gutom鈥� Kitchen to provinces in 2025
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) planned to expand its food bank program “Walang Gutom” (No Hunger) Kitchen to provinces in 2025.
The initiative was launched in December 2024 to collate food donations from hotels and restaurants that are not consumed for the day but are still edible and safe for consumption.
READ: DSWD calls for volunteers, donations for ‘Walang Gutom’ Kitchen
“We’re planning this year upon instruction of Secretary Rex Gatchalian. We’re scaling up in the provincial areas naman that will be identified and targeted,” DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said in a news forum on Saturday.
READ: DSWD: 300,000 Filipinos benefit from anti-hunger program in 2024
The kitchen is located at Nasdake Building in Pasay City.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Hunger among Filipinos remains at its highest since 2020 – SWS poll
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to Punay, the expanded program will prioritize areas with high poverty incidence: the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm); the provinces of Leyte and Samar; and the Bicol Region.
The food bank is among the department’s anti-hunger programs.
Punay also reported that the DSWD’s “Walang Gutom” Food Stamp Program benefitted 300,000 individuals out of the targeted 1 million “food-poor” Filipinos.
The results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released last October found that 22.9 percent of Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger, the highest since its 30.7-percent figure at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown.
