The DSWD’s Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) held its first regional convergence meeting with regional partners.

The DSWD, DAR, DA are the three (3) lead national agencies, together with 28 other agencies and offices that collaborate to address the socio-economic problems in the community. The EPAHP aims to help mitigate hunger, ensure food and nutrition security, and reduce poverty through DSWD programs like Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), and other government agencies’ programs.

The collaborative efforts of the EPAHP and its partners will create a linkage and convergence in engaging the rural communities to enhance the social capital and economic resource base through supplementary feeding, other government feeding programs, and other essential support services, including the participation of community-based organizations (CBOs) in government’s service providers.

Community Pantry

The Supplementary Feeding Program installed a community pantry at the DSWD Social Welfare and Development Office (SWAD)-Cebu grounds for the Nutrition Month celebration. It is one of the DSWD programs that would help address hunger and poverty.

The community pantry served more than 200 clients of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) from the different cities and municipalities of Cebu province.

Clients did not expect to receive free vegetables because their only intention was to ask for assistance.

Marissa Toledo from Danao City, Cebu, said she was surprised, and she did not expect to be bringing fresh vegetables at home. “Wala gyud ko mag expect aning mga utanon. Salamat kaayo (I did not expect to receive these vegetables. Thank you so much),” Marissa said. Toledo came only to ask for medical assistance for her niece’s chemotherapy.

The community pantry gave squash, white squash, sayote, patatas, carrots, pechay, repolyo, sweet potato, turnip, and banana.

“These are the clients we want to serve, the families who are in crisis. We have to provide them these vegetables to prevent hunger and to keep them healthy, in time of this pandemic situation,” shared Mary Ann Espina, PDO-I of the Supplementary Feeding Program.

Espina added that the vegetables came from Kababayen-an sa Obo, an association funded by the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) in Dalaguete, Cebu. The community pantry is one of the many convergence efforts of the department to address hunger and poverty in rural and urban communities.  ###

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