MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) planned to expand its food bank program 鈥淲alang Gutom鈥� (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.
搁贰础顿:听DSWD calls for volunteers, donations for 鈥榃alang Gutom鈥� Kitchen
鈥淲e鈥檙e planning this year upon instruction of Secretary Rex Gatchalian. We鈥檙e scaling up in the provincial areas naman that will be identified and targeted,鈥� 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.
READ: Hunger among Filipinos remains at its highest since 2020 鈥� SWS poll
According 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鈥檚 anti-hunger programs.
Punay also reported that the DSWD鈥檚 鈥淲alang Gutom鈥� Food Stamp Program benefitted 300,000 individuals out of the targeted 1 million 鈥渇ood-poor鈥� 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.