DSWD trains WGP Dinagat Islands beneficiaries on 3K session
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Walang Gutom Program (WGP) goes beyond providing monthly food support to the family beneficiaries in Dinagat Islands as it recently conducted the program’s 3K (kalusugan, kakayahan, at kabuhayan) session in the province.
The Walang Gutom Program’s 3K session, facilitated by the community engagement coordinators, provided beneficiaries a chance to gain practical knowledge and skills in meal planning, informed food purchasing, and effective household budgeting to help improve food consumption and nutrition outcomes in their families.
DSWD Caraga said the 3K session is a regular convergence where program beneficiaries are taught proper food handling, safe food preparation, and healthy cooking practices to help ensure safe and nutritious meals for their households, especially the children.
It added that the beneficiary family is also required to attend at least one session per month to promote continuous learning and responsible household food management.
Meanwhile, the DSWD’s WGP is the agency’s flagship initiative to reduce involuntary hunger among food-poor households by providing food assistance alongside nutrition education and capacity-building activities, enabling families to become healthier, more food-secure, and resilient.
It also reflects the continuing commitment to uplift Filipino households by improving access to food and easing the burden of hunger in communities, fulfilling President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s mandate to make sure there will be enough nutritious food in every Filipino household.
The program provides each family beneficiary with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card loaded with P3,000 in monthly food credits. Through food redemption, the family may use the EBT card to buy food from DSWD-accredited partner retailers and merchants. The beneficiary’s purchase will follow the recommended food basket budget: 50 percent carbohydrates such as rice and sweet potato; 30 percent protein foods; and 20 percent fiber, including fruits and vegetables.
Tatay Danilo, a resident of Tubajon town in Dinagat Islands, is one of the beneficiaries of the program during the June 22 food redemption activity.
Using his EBT food credits, he bought a sack of rice, vegetables, and other food items and brought them home to his family.
“Bilang isang magsasaka, malaking tulong para sa akin ang buwanang food redemption dahil nakadaragdag ito sa pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan ng aking pamilya” (As farmer, the monthly food redemption is an additional help to address the needs of my family), he said.
“Bihira ang ganitong uri ng suporta kaya labis ang kanyang pasasalamat sa programa (This kind of support is seldom, which is why I am thankful to the program),” he added. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands with reports from DSWD Caraga and DSWD Walang Gutom Program)
