THE OFFICE of the Vice President, in partnership with the Department of Education, on Tuesday pilot-tested “Pansarap”, a supplemental nutrition intervention for undernourished learners.

Some 733 Kindergarten to Grade 6 learners in Lower Tamugan Elementary School in Barangay Tamugan in Davao were the first to taste the nutritional buns developed by the Department of Science and Technology, through the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

The school has a student population of 988.

School Principal Brembhot Eyas, who said the number of undernourished children in their school is “alarming,” thanked OVP and DepEd for conducting the first run of the program in their school.

“For this, we are grateful to the Office of the Vice President for doing such an initiative to give equal importance to the health of our students,” Eyas said.

Zuleika Lopez, OVP Undersecretary, said the program is an initiative of Vice President Sara Duterte, who is also the Education Secretary.

“Ang proyekto ng Pansarap ay hindi lang proyekto ng Office of the Vice President, proyekto din ito ng Department of Education,” Lopez said.

The nutritious bread comes in 10 flavors, all Halal certified.

The buns will be distributed to students from Mondays to Fridays for 120 days.

The OVP also plans to bring the program to other parts of the country with high cases of malnutrition among children.

The program will soon be implemented in Upi, Maguindanao, targeting 1,893 schoolchildren who need proper nutrition.