Senator Grace Poe urged candidates in the May 2025 elections to prioritize child welfare, especially malnutrition and stunting.
Poe, author of Republic Act No. 11037 or the “Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act,” said the law laid the foundation for sustainable feeding programs.
“We’re not starting from zero. The programs and the budget for child nutrition are in place, but we need champions for this advocacy to ensure its continuity,” the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance said.
“We hope we elect officials who believe that the economic future of our country hinges on our children,” she added.
RA 11037 institutionalized the Department of Education’s School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) and the DSWD’s Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP).
From SY 2018-2019 to 2023-2024, SBFP served over 16 million learners with meals and 12 million with milk. For SY 2024-2025, more than 2.2 million children are receiving meals and fresh milk.
In the 2025 national budget, Poe secured P11.7 billion for SBFP—P65.7 million more than the previous year—and introduced provisions to reduce administrative costs, ensuring more funds go directly to feeding children.
The SFP served nearly 9.6 million children from 2020 to 2024. In SY 2023-2024 alone, it helped cut the number of underweight children by 75%.
“Where our children’s nutrition is concerned, a diet policy does not work. For our children to reach their full potential and be productive, we need to provide them with the very basic need, which is food,” she concluded.IMT
