DSWD plans to open more 鈥榃alang Gutom鈥� kitchens
ENSURING THE NEXT MEAL The electronic transfer card issued to the “Walang Gutom” program beneficiaries is loaded with a monthly food stipend of P3,000 and can be used at government-run Kadiwa outlets or partner stores designated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.—MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday it was studying putting up more “Walang Gutom” kitchens in and outside Metro Manila as the government studies the declaration of a food security emergency.
The government-run soup kitchen, which is located in a building in Pasay City that used to house a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub, will become the “central” kitchen should the plan push through, according to DSWD social technology bureau chief Jason Oabel. The Pogo hub was raided in October 2023.
Priority, however, would be given to highly urbanized areas where families and individuals in street situations are found, Oabel said.
“The current Walang Gutom Kitchen’s reach is not focused only in Pasay…as it caters to nearby cities (and those) within the National Capital Region. But we are looking at coming up with mobile kitchens so that [the current one] would serve as the central kitchen where meals would be cooked and would be sent to (others),” he said in a news briefing.
Awaiting findings
Oeabel added that the creation of more kitchens would likely take place in the second semester of the year, or during the summer months, depending on the findings of the program evaluation and assessment.
Social welfare spokesperson Irene Dumlao, who was also in the presser, said they were currently procuring needs for mobile kitchens, which could also be used for their disaster response efforts.
The program, which is still on a pilot test, was launched on Dec. 16 last year and has so far provided meals to some 12,000 beneficiaries.
The current kitchen can cater to some 600 beneficiaries daily—300 each in the morning and noontime, said Oabel, adding that a one-time registration with a corresponding QR code was being given to each beneficiary.
“Actually, there are so-called repeaters who come in the morning and return during lunchtime. We don’t have a prohibition regarding that. Everyone who is able to go to the kitchen is provided free meals,” he explained.
The usual fare, he noted, were hot meals, such as macaroni soup, noodles, and tinola.
Up to P50 per meal
Oable could not provide the exact budget this year for the Walang Gutom Kitchen project, but he said that around P30 to 50 was being allotted per meal.
Donations for meals and food ingredients complement the cooked meals prepared and funded by DSWD staff, he said.
On Wednesday, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with organizations and private firms who donated “surplus or excess” food to the “Walang Gutom” Kitchen.
