School-Based Feeding Program in Ilocos Sur: Impacts on Health and Educational Outcomes

Abstract

The Department of Education created a conditional food transfer program to improve the health and school performance of Filipino children. This descriptive correlational study focused on the impact of the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) of public elementary school beneficiaries in the Schools Division of Ilocos Sur for School Year 2019-2020. It involved 625 school heads, teachers, representatives of partner organizations, and parents from the top 11 districts with the most number of severely wasted beneficiaries. The findings revealed that partner organizations highly supported the feeding program in terms of financial and technical resources. SBFP is very highly implemented through the effective utilization of its operational guidelines and well-managed strategies of its eligible and complementary activities. Moreover, it facilitates the rehabilitation of the nutritional status of the beneficiaries, contributes to high classroom attendance, and improves their health and nutritional values and behaviors. In addition, the feeding program is also effective in the attainment of high school performance with decreased dropout rate, increased promotion rate, and reduced repetition rate for the last three years. The respondents raised the following concerns: the incapacity of parents to consistently attend meal preparation and cooking, presence of repeat beneficiaries, delayed budget release, extra effort in buying commodities with receipts, and SBFP Core groups not always following the usual cycle menu. Therefore, the researcher crafted an intervention plan to improve the implementation and impact of the feeding program.