By Ivy Tejano
DAVAO CITY – A Davao City councilor is fast-tracking the proposed pilot implementation of a school-based feeding program in selected public elementary schools, with rollout scheduled for School Year 2026–2027.
Councilor Antoinette Prinsipe, chairperson of the Committee on Education, Science and Technology, said the initiative is currently under legal review ahead of its planned rollout next school year.
“The initiative is still being finalized through a memorandum of agreement between the city government and the Department of Education,” Prinsipe said during the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos on Tuesday, May 12.
Prinsipe said the committee will present the proposed pilot implementation of the school-based feeding program in the succeeding council sessions ahead of implementation in the next school year.
The program, called Project ALAGA (Advancing Learners through Accessible, Guaranteed, and Adequate nutrition), aims to address child malnutrition and improve school attendance and learning outcomes.
Prinsipe added that the city government of Davao, through the Local School Board, has allocated P20 million to supplement DepEd’s existing feeding budget.
“Unlike the current distribution of processed food items such as NutriBuns and milk, the initiative will introduce hot meals prepared under a school-based feeding system,” the councilor said.
Originally planned as a centralized kitchen at Sta. Ana Elementary School, Prinsipe said, the program will now use a hybrid setup due to the city’s large geographic area.
Sta. Ana will serve as a central kitchen hub for nearby schools, including Agdao Elem. School, Manuel Garcia Elem. School, Jose Rizal Elem. School, Manuel Roxas Elem. School, and Zonta Elem. School.
Under this setup, she said, schools within the Sta. Ana will receive meals prepared at the central hub, while schools in geographically isolated, disadvantaged areas will operate their own on-site kitchens.
GIDA-covered schools include six barangays in the Marilog and Paquibato Districts. Learners from Kindergarten to Grade 6 will be covered under the universal feeding scheme.
Meanwhile, the Sta. Ana cluster schools will give priority to students identified as malnourished or severely undernourished, the councilor added.
Program planning and menu development were conducted between late 2025 and early 2026, while training for kitchen personnel on food safety and sanitation is scheduled for May 2026.
She said the program is a response to persistent concerns about malnutrition among schoolchildren, which she described as a major barrier to learning and development.
Prinsipe earlier stressed that feeding interventions should be viewed as a long-term investment in education outcomes, noting that hunger directly affects a child’s ability to stay in school and learn effectively
The proposal was developed following consultations and benchmarking visits to other localities implementing similar systems, including Davao de Oro and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Under the proposal, DepEd will handle food provision and logistics, while the city government will fund kitchen construction and refurbishment, personnel hiring, and operational standards.
Prinsipe said the program also intends to strengthen school gardens under the Gulayan sa Paaralan initiative and prioritize sourcing ingredients from local farmers, cooperatives, and women’s groups.
The memorandum of agreement between the city government and DepEd in Davao City has been submitted on first reading and will undergo further legislative deliberation before implementation.
