ILOILO City – As Western Visayas observes Nutrition Month, themed “Sa PPAN: Sama-sama sa Nutrisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat!”, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) is urging every household to set up communal or vegetable gardens to promote good nutrition and combat food insecurity.
Sheryl Sedantes, the officer-in-charge and Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator, said establishing communal gardens is an effective method to ensure sustainable food sources and address nutritional deficits.
“Food insecurity means insufficient food intake that results in malnutrition. By encouraging every household and even barangays to have a communal garden, we can mitigate this issue,” Sedantes explained.
According to Sedantes, having a garden can also be economically beneficial as it reduces the need to purchase basic ingredients.
The NNC has consistently advised local government units (LGUs) to incorporate seed and vegetable distribution into their Local Nutrition Action Plans to encourage gardening among residents.
LGUs are encouraged to collaborate with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to provide seedlings and conduct educational seminars on starting communal gardens.
“Sometimes people don’t start gardens not because they lack interest, but because they don’t know how to start. LGUs can facilitate this by organizing seminars in coordination with DA-6,” Sedantes added.
Sedantes also noted that communal gardens do not require large spaces due to innovative methods like vertical gardening and the use of recycled materials. She expressed hope that barangay-level garden initiatives would inspire more households to cultivate their vegetables.
The NNC’s push for communal gardens is just one of the numerous strategies being implemented to tackle malnutrition across the region. As part of the Nutrition Month Celebration, NNC-6 is hosting a variety of activities to raise public awareness on proper nutrition. These include pre-launch meetings with regional and local stakeholders, social media campaigns, and public events like nutri-parades and mall exhibitions.
“Public involvement is crucial for the success of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN), and what better place to engage the public than where they commonly gather, like malls,” Sedantes remarked during the planning for the culmination event on July 31.
The positive impact of these initiatives is evident in the decreasing rates of stunting, wasting, and obesity among children from 2019 to 2023, according to recent data from Operation Timbang Plus./PN