Celebrating Nutrition month with Mondelez Philippines’ Joy Schools Program

Malnutrition among schoolchildren can be considered as one of the leading barriers to effective learning. Their bodies need to receive the proper sustenance to function well. 

Mondelez Philippines (formerly Kraft Foods Philippines) and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) entered a partnership to counter this and other concerns faced by schools through the 3-year Joy Schools Program. 

Five Metro Manila elementary schools namely: P. Manalo Elementary School in Pateros, Vicente Lim Elementary School in Manila, Sampaloc Elementary School in Parañaque, Bayanan Main Elementary School in Muntinlupa, and P. Zamora Elementary School in Pasay are part of the Joy Schools program. The latter implements initiatives for nutrition, teacher training and facilities improvement to create joy for the schools. This July, in time for Nutrition Month, the five schools began a 9-month feeding program serving one full meal daily.   

A total of 750 beneficiaries (150 per school) with nutritional statistics ranging from “wasted” to “severely wasted” or undernourished are included in the feeding. Did you know that the appearance of the children need not be frail or skinny to be considered undernourished? This makes the threat even more perilous to children’s wellbeing.  The students will be under this 9-month feeding program that will follow a 20-day menu to effectively hasten the process of nursing them back to health.

The Mondelez Philippines Joy Schools Program also includes Parent-Teacher and Community Association training to help parents efficiently manage their child’s school participation and eventually sustain the feeding program at home. The teachers’ training will focus on the schools’ low performing subjects and will include values formation. 

Library repair to enrich literacy, kitchen refurbishment, and provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities will also be provided by Mondelez Philippines through the program.