SENATOR Joseph Victor Ejercito is pushing for the establishment of Central Kitchens to improve the implementation of the School-Based Feeding Program.

Ejercito’s Senate Bill 2608 aims to amend Republic Act 11037 of the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act which was enacted in 2017 to stem the rising tide of malnutrition among children.

The senator said the program has mostly been satisfactory after around 2.3 million elementary students in public schools have been provided with hot meals every year since its enactment.

“But there is always room for expansion and improvement,” Ejercito said in his explanatory note.

He cited a recent Department of Education-backed study which reveals that only 74% of public schools have a designated cooking place.

Many public schools in the Visayas and Mindanao regions have only dirty kitchens, which are fueled with charcoal or firewood.

Ejercito stressed that the shortcomings prevent the full realization of the goals of the law.

Thus, his measure mandates the establishment of a network of central kitchens based on clusters of geographically approximate clusters of schools.

The measure clarifies the roles of LGUs, the private sector, and non-government organizations in the implementation of the law.