IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHOOL BASED FEEDING PROGRAM: BASIS FOR A

PROPOSED ENHANCEMENT PLAN

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Health and nutrition is among the basic essentialities for

life’s sustainability. To live with sound body and mind is

ultimately a primal need and a right of everyone in order to

function well, grow, develop and meet the daily demands of

life’s functionalities. Nutrition education in the early years

of life, particularly in the preschool period, is very important

for an individual's health throughout life. Nutritional

experiences at a young age influence nutritional habits in

adulthood. For this reason, nutrition education should be

continuous, effective and directed towards all family members.

However, this basic life’s need has remained the critical

problem especially among children in most of the under developed

countries where struggles for sustaining and maintaining proper

food sustenance and other basic essentialities for survival

remained a critical problem for every families.

 2

In the Philippines, as reported by Rappler,poor nutrition

remains a major problem with 3.4 million children found to be

stunted and over 300,000 underweight, a criticism made by some

that economic gains a criticism made by some that economic gains

do not reach the poorest of the poor and the millions of

underprivileged. The effect of malnutrition on individual

children and on society as a whole deprives children and nations

of their full potential and is perceived to be shocking in a

middle income country where severe inequalities persist despite

high economic growth.

To combat the long standing problems of providing every

Filipino especially children access to proper health and

nutrition, the national government works purposely and

collaboratively with different national agencies and other

private partners to work on the long term plan embedded in the

Ambisyon Natin 2040, envisioning and promising a more

comfortable and secure life for every Filipino where no one will

be poor and no one will ever be hungry.

Working on this national program, RA 11037 has been passed

recently mandating national agencies, the Department of Social

Welfare and Development(DSWD) in partnership with other agencies

 3

like Department of Education and local government to intensify

and to make a full implementation of providing food assistance

to children in a form of feeding programs and other .

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has mandated the

institutionalization of the school-based feeding program as a

mechanism to accelerate the achievements of some of the

Millennium Development Goals, particularly those on hunger and

poverty line. The School Based Feeding Program SBFP as it was

known, works on the premise that there exists a strong

correlation between health, nutrition, and school performance.

Tracing its roots to the 1997 Food for Education (FFE),

blueprint to address short-term hunger, the SBFP goal has

evolved "to rehabilitate severely wasted children to normal

nutrition status and improve their classroom attendance".

However, despite the strength this program present to augment

the health conditions of identified wasted and severely wasted

pupils in the public schools and in the barangays as reported

and identified by local health workers, there were reports that

are certain areas within the SBFP programs which needs to be

improve and strengthened. The need to increase the allotted

budget per child and for continuing monitoring evaluation and

validations of reports were seen as the areas of pitfall of the

 4

programs that has to be addressed in order for the program to

be more effectual to take effect.

With the above cited facts about the status of the health

conditions of Filipino children and the existence of SBFP as an

intervention program, this research aims to evaluate some

identified areas of the SBFP in order to assess and to arrive

at a conclusive assessment of the strength of the program.

Theoretical Framework

Various noted academic literature and studies cited the

direct link between health and nutrition and performance of

children in the school. This idea is backed up with different

theoretical perspectives dealing with how nutrition is

associated with health related behaviour change. Individual-

based, needs-based, cognitive based construct such as Maslow

Hierarchy of Needs, Piagets’s Theory of Cognitive Development

and other ethological construct become the theoretical

foundation of this study. These theories will help inform the

design of research and program intervention based on psycho-

biological, physiological and ethological frameworks.

Piaget’s cognitive theoretical construct as cited in

Baskali et al (2009) is among the theories which explains how

 5

cognitive development occur in children. Baskali (2009),

pointed out Piaget’s propositions that there are periods in

children’s life when children learn concepts and develop long

habits. In that period, children learn about appropriate and

balanced nutrition and acquire good eating habits for later

years. Piaget determined that children's cognitive development

is important for their understanding of and learning about the

world around them. Piaget's theory can be used as a guide in

nutrition education. In fact, it helps to design effective

nutrition education appropriate for the developmental stages of

childhood.

Piaget's cognitive development theory has been selected as

a theoretical framework for the nutrition education guidance of

preschool children. This theory provides a philosophical

explanation of using knowledge, development and cognitive

processes. The theory proposes that there should be a bridge

between cognition, learning and behaviour. Piaget's theory

allows us to understand children's cognitive development and

how and when they learn things.

Whilst the cognitive perspective talks on the the

importance of maturation and the early stage in children’s

 6

development, Maslow’s theoretical premise as cited in Lamport

(2012), organizes the hierarchical predisposition of human

needs primarily with the sustainment and satisfaction of

physiological needs as the most potent of all needs elaborating

that consciousness is almost completely pre-empted by hunger.

This theoretical construct offers an expository connections

between food and learning and that it can be understood that

academic performance cannot be expected from students

experiencing basic need’s deprivation. While the Maslow relied

on the physiological processes that leads to individual need

for achievement Vygotsky cited in Aanstoos (2010), explains how

nutrition and performance affected by an array of socio-

cultural factors. Vygotsky and the socio culturalists explains

this by maintaining that a person’s context shapes his or her

behaviour, such as by influencing eating habits and determining

priorities in learning and that arguments paved way in saying

that ‘culture defines what knowledge and skills children need

to acquire’ and that values and processes ‘differ among

different races, social classes’.

Understanding the link of nutrition in the development of

individual was not only explained by the above psychological

and social learning construct. Other thories requires an

 7

understanding of biological processes as well as consideration

of socio-cultural factors. This includes ethology which

explores the biological basis of development and information

processing, which examines the network of brain activity during

cognition. Ethology has studied behaviour from the evolutionary

perspective although some who adhere to contemporary

understanding focus on the immediate cause of behavior (Miller

(2011).

Considering the numerous theoretical constructs in

different fields of psychology, social sciences and even in

medical sciences which the direct impact nutrition has on human

development and performance, this study present a pivotal area

in assessing evaluating programs which the government has put

so much resources in the fulfilment of its dreams and promise

of eliminating hunger and malnutrition which detrimental to

individual becoming and to national development in general. The

school having the mandate as program providers of School Based

Feeding Program which aimed at assisting public school pupils

who were identified as malnourished to have access to food

sustenance. Hence, such program need to ensure that all areas

needed for proper implementation and delivery should be

 8

observed in the light of what is standard to program

implementation.
 9

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 illustrates the Conceptual Frameworks of the stu

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Implementation
Of The School-
Based Feeding
Administration
Program
and retrieval
- Program of survey
objectives questionnaire
- Feeding
facilities
Statistical
- Complimentary A Proposed SBFP
treatment of
activities Enhancement
data
- Strategies Plan
used in the
SBFP Analysis and
implementation
Interpretation
Problems of data
Encountered in
the
Implementation
of SBFP

FEEDBACK

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

The research paradigm used in this research inquiry is the

Input-Process-Output (IPO) Model. The INPUT Box contains

 10

implementation of the school-based feeding program as to

program objectives, feeding facilities, complementary

activities and strategies used in the implementation of SBFP,

and the problems encountered by the respondents.

The PROCESS box includes the administration of survey

questionnaires, unstructured interview and statistical

treatment/analysis of data.

The Output Box shows the contributions of the study, a

proposed enhancement plan for the improvement of SBFP

implementation.

Statement of the Problem

1. What is the extent of implementation of the school-

based feeding program as assessed by the school administrators,

feeding coordinators and feeding teachers as to:

1.1 Program objectives

1.2 Feeding facilities

1.3 Complimentary activities

1.4 Strategies used in the SBFP implementation

 11

2. Is there a significant difference between the

assessment of the School Administrators, SBFP Coordinators and

Feeding Teachers as to aforementioned variables?

3. What are the problems encountered by the respondents in

the implementation of the SBFP?

4. Based on the findings, what enhancement plan may be

proposed?

5. How acceptable is the proposed enhancement plan as

assessed by the respondents?

Hypothesis

There is no significant difference on the assessment of

the School Administrators, Feeding Coordinators, and Feeding

Teachers on the implementation of the school-based feeding

program (SBFP).

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study will be focused on the assessment of

implementation of the school-based feeding program of public

elementary schools resulting to develop a proposed enhancement

plan.
 12

The respondents of the study will the 16 School

Administrators, 16 SBFP Coordinators and 16 Feeding Teachers in

the District of Gen. Luna, Division of Quezon, School Year 2019–

2020.

Significance of the Study

The information gathered and the result of findings in

this study is significant to the following:

School Administrators- This study will serve as basis for the

proper implementation of the program and for the formulation of

a more equitable policies in the future

Teachers- This research will bring awareness to teachers who

have direct contact with the learners to collaborate with the

program thorough the proper assessment of children in order to

be given health intervention.

Parents- The study will have the parents understand of the

greater responsibilities to their children of ensuring that

they should be provided with the basic needs especially health,

wellness and nutrition

Pupils- Being the recipient of the program, a more improve,

systematic and successful implementation of the feeding

programs will be expected, where more improve and equipped

 13

programs administrators and sense of dedication and commitment

will be given in the program implementation

Researcher-This is a personal realization of professional

development and to contribute to the body of understanding and

especially to the school community to which the subject of this

study

Future Researchers- this study will serve as a basis of

formulation, reference for future studies looking into the gray

areas and limitations of the existing research

Definition of Terms

Body Mass Index (BMI). An indicator of nutritional status

expressed as body weight in kilograms divided by the

square of the height in meter. It provides a measure

of body mass ranging from thinnes to obesity (2015 DepEd

School Based Feeding Guidelines)

Complimentary Activities. Refers to other programs and

activities supporting the program

Duration. The duration of the program refers to the 120 feeding

day program

Essential Health Care Program. A health care program which

promote health care awareness and practice involving

 14

handwashing, toothbrushing with fluoride and bi-annual

deworming.

Facilities. Refers to physical construct to where the feeding

program is held and conducted

Gulayan Sa Paaralan. A partner program for the feeding program

where advocates planting of vegetables in the school through

bio-intensive gardening

Nutritional Status. The condition of the body resulting from

the intake, absorption and utilization of food. Clinical

examinations, biochemical analysis, and dietary studies are

used singly or combination to determine the condition

Beneficiaries. Refers to the persons who will serve as a

benefactor of the program

SBFP. An integrated school based feeding program run by the

school catered to grade school children who were identified to

have a severe problem on nutrition after a health evaluation

conducted by the school. This program aims to provide

nutritional support by providing daily intake of nutritious

foods.

Severely Wasted. A child having a severe health problem whose

BMI for age is below -3 z score line or Standard Deviation

 15

Strategies. The mechanism adopted by the school and

implementers in order to run the program

Wasted. A child having poor nutrition whose BMI-for-age falls

between-2to-3 z-score line.

 16

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter explore the different intricate and vast

areas of foreign and local of literature and studies that leads

to the more in depth understanding of this study. This chapter

cited several sources of information and ideas that helped

enhance the knowledge of the researcher on how other things or

phenomena are associated to the concern of this study. Thus,

these would supplement and complement what contained in the

exploration of this research.

Foreign Literature

The problem malnutrition, in every form, presents

significant threats to human health. I n d e v e l o p i n g

countries the issues on under and over

nutrition became a national burden that call for

a national emergency program (World Health

Organization, 2016). Hunger and inadequate nutrition

contribute to early deaths for mothers, infants and

young children, and impaired physical and brain

development in the young. At the same time, growing

 17

rates of overweight and obesity worldwide are linked

to a rise in chronic diseases such as cancer,

cardiovascular disease and diabetes - conditions that

are life-threatening and very difficult to treat in

places with limited resources and already

overburdened health systems.

The International Food Policy Research Institute

in Washington DC released a Global Nutrition Report

on 2016 and states that malnutrition creates a

cascade of individual and societal changes as well

as opportunities. The effects of malnutrition on

human is beyond measures. As reported, mortality due

to this, accounted to 58% of the total mortality in

2006 as the report accounted for millions of death

died of hunger and to diseases due to deficiencies

in micronutrients (www.scribd.com). This very

alarming statistic data of the health condition

particularly of children around the world calls for

all leaders across nations to arrive at a more sound

and sophisticated program for nutrition and

healthcare to address this problem.

 18

Complimentary Programs on Nutrition

The prevalence of childhood malnutrition remains high in

the developing world. Malnutrition rate is high between the ages

of 6 to 24 months because breast milk alone is not enough to

meet the nutritional needs of the child and other foods are

introduced. World Health Organisation (WHO) defines

complimentary feeding as the introduction of other foods and/

or energy containing liquids to young children in addition to

breast milk. While some studies indicate that complementary

feeding can be introduced at 4 months, WHO recommends that

children should be introduced to complementary foods at 6

months. The food that is given should be safe, adequate and

appropriate to prevent growth faltering in under-five children

thereby reducing childhood deaths.One of the major causes of

malnutrition in young children in developing countries is poor

feeding practices such as: introducing complimentary foods at

an early or late stage, restriction in food selection and giving

children poor quality and insufficient amounts of complimentary

foods. It is argued that poor feeding practices are associated

with caregivers poor knowledge, lack of information and their

being restricted by traditional beliefs. Poverty is another

major cause and affects food choices. With poverty, caregivers

 19

tend to give children the food that is available regardless of

its nutrition value. Shortage of health-care providers, HIV and

AIDS and few health care facilities are some of the contributing

factors to malnutrition. In developing countries there is

critical shortage of health-care providers. This has been made

worse by the accelerating labour migration which is causing

loss of nurses and doctors from countries that can least afford

the brain drain. There is also an increase in disease burden

due to HIV and AIDS and as a result more of these health-care

workers are based in the health care facility with few in the

community. Consequently, primary care activities are not given

a priority. There are a few health care facilities which are

located very far from people and as such most people go to the

hospital when they perceive an illness to be serious. As a

result, health workers are mostly busy attending to serious

cases and do not give much attention to preventive services

such as health education. These factors provide a threat to the

attainment of health-related millennium development goals

number 4 and 6, which aim to reduce child mortality and combat

HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases

respectively. It is against this background that numerous

strategies have been put in place to reduce the prevalence rate

 20

of malnutrition in children. These strategies are: provision of

supplementary feeding, fortified foods, immunizations and

nutrition education. To combat malnutrition it has been

recommended by many researchers that nutrition intervention

should be accessible, sustainable, culturally sensitive and

integrated with local resources. One such intervention is the

training of some community members to provide nutrition

education to care-givers in their villages to prevent and

improve childhood under-nutrition. This systematic review will

therefore evaluate the best available evidence on the

effectiveness of community-based nutrition education in

improving the nutrition status of under-five children in

developing countries.

In the Philippines, malnutrition remains a

significant public health concern with a staggering

3.4 million children who are stunted (short for

their age) and more than 300,000 children under 5

years who are severely wasted. This continues to be

a serious child health problem, with the Philippines

being highly disaster-prone. The risk of

malnutrition increases in the aftermath of

emergencies (UNICEF Philippines, 2015)

 21

A national nutrition survey reveals that, 20%

of Filiino children aged 0 to 5 are underweight

while 30% are stunted or too short for their age.

The Philippines ranked 9 in the world with the

most number of stunted children according to

Unicef study.

To combat the alarming problem of Severe Acute

Malnutrition, the country made the prioritization

of developing national protocoland policy through

with the Philippine National Cluster to manage the

SAM for children under 5 years of age. This was

made through a community-based management of acute

malnutrition (CMAM)lead by the Department of

Health. The broader objective of this

prioritization was to improve the access and

availability of life saving services for children

with SAM through the institutionalization of SAM

management through the national and local health

systems in both emergency and non emergency

settings (UNICEF, 2016)

 22

Foreign Studies

As the problems on malnutrition continuous to

persist numerous studies have been conducted on the

different areas of nutrition, healthcare programs,

effects and development across nations.

A number of Australian researchers have also recently

begun conducting research on diet and its association with

symptoms of mental illness. In a large-scale Western Australia

study researchers examined 1,631 adolescents (14-year-olds) and

found two main food patterns: a ‘Western’ dietary pattern, which

consisted of high intakes of take-away foods, soft drinks,

confectionary, refined grains and full fat dairy products; and

a ‘healthy’ dietary pattern, which consisted of high intakes of

whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes and fish (Ambrosini et

al. 2009). A study by the same research group identifies that

higher scores of psychological symptoms relating to

internalising (e.g., withdrawal/depression) and externalising

behaviour (e.g., delinquency/aggression) were associated with

a ‘Western’ dietary pattern, whereas a ‘healthy’ dietary

pattern was associated with a decrease in symptoms (Oddy et al.

2009). Another study also showed that a ‘Western’ diet was

 23

associated with a higher likelihood of depressive and anxiety

disorders in women (Jacka et al. 2010).

On the effect of malnutrition on health, Rice

et. al. (2000) conducted a study on the malnutrition

as an underlying cause of childhood deaths associated

with infectious diseases in developing countries.

Methods MEDLINE was searched for suitable review

articles and original reports of community-based and

hospital-based studies. Findings from cohort studies

and case–control studies were reviewed and

summarized. The study found out that the strongest

and most consistent relation between malnutrition and

an increased risk of death was observed for diarrhea

and acute respiratory infection. The evidence,

although limited, also suggests a potentially

increased risk for death from malaria. A less

consistent association was observed between

nutritional status and death from measles. Although

some hospital-based studies and case–control studies

reported an increased risk of mortality from measles,

few community-based studies reported any

association. The risk of malnutrition-related

 24

mortality seems to vary for different diseases. These

findings have important implications for the

evaluation of nutritional intervention programs and

child survival programs being implemented in settings

with different disease profiles.

On the effects of malnutrition and poor

nutrition on the academic performance of students.

Chinyoka (2014) conducted a study on the impact of

poor nutrition on the academic performance of grade

seven learners in case of Zimbabwe. Its main

objective is to identify mitigation policies and

measures designed to reduce negative effects of poor

nutrition on children’s academic performance.

Malnutrition remains one of the major obstacles to

human well-being affecting all areas of a child's

growth and development, including performance in the

classroom. The study is grounded in Maslow’s

motivational and needs theory. In this study, a

qualitative phenomenological case study design was

used with focus group discussions, interviews and

observations as data collection instruments to

twelve (12) grade seven learners, three (3)

 25

headmasters and four (4) teachers, purposively

sampled in Masvingo province. Findings revealed that

malnutrition affected physical growth, cognitive

development and it consequently impacts on academic

performance, health and survival of learners.

Malnutrition also deepens poverty due to increased

health care costs. The study also established that

hungry and undernourished grade seven learners were

not able to take on physical work and sporting

activities seriously, are less able to attend school

and if they do, are less able to concentrate and

learn. On the way forward, there is need to introduce

nutritional gardens at community, school and at

family levels. Addressing the root causes of

malnutrition (such as food insecurity, poverty,

population growth and socio-economic instability) is

imperative for achieving sustained reductions in

malnutrition.

Similar epidemiological study on malnutrition concerning

five years old children has been conducted by Yadav et. al

(2016) in India that reveals that although there is declining

tendency of under-nutrition in the past three years,

 26

malnutrition in preschool children ought to be considered as a

community crisis. Researchers found that almost half of our

under five children are underweight, girl child being affected

more. Studies also reveal that malnutrition was more prevalent

among children from rural families and from lower socioeconomic

status. Maternal education and occupational status had

significant effect on child’s nutritional status. To diminish

the load of malnutrition in the children, a collective attempt

by the government, non-governmental organizations and the

community is crucial. Effective, efficient and equitable

program should be designed to reduce child malnutrition. Indian

government is having Integrated Child Development Services

(ICDS), which At the national levels having high coverage, but

utilization of ICDS services is low. For attainment of best

possible nutrition and growth in children, targeted short-term

strategies addressing underlying risk factors and more long-

term poverty alleviation strategies may be needed.

The necessity of having of creating and providing an

efficient and equitable programs to address issues on nutrition

and malnutrition as cited above in the studies conducted in

India has been supported by other studies on the evaluation of

school feeding program as one of the intervention adopted by

 27

some countries. In Kenya, study has been conducted to evaluate

the effect of school based feeding program on nutritional status

and anemia in an urban slum. The objective of the study is to

evaluate the effect of a school feeding program in the slums of

Nairobi (Kenya) on anemia and nutritional status, together with

an investigation for socioeconomic determinants that may

overrule this effect. Sixty-seven children at the St. George

primary school in Kibera participated in the school feeding

program for 1 year and data concerning anemia rate, nutritional

status and socioeconomic status were collected during a medical

health check. Data were compared with a control group of

children attending the same school, of the same age and with

the same gender distribution without participation in a feeding

program. Data were analyzed with statistical software (SPSS

17.0). Children participating in the school feeding program

were less stunted (p = 0.02) and wasted (p = 0.02) than children

in the control group, and levels of anemia were lower (p =

0.01). Having no father (p = 0.01) and living in small families

(p = 0.003) overruled the effect of the feeding program. Also,

the higher the mother’s education, the more wasting was seen

(p = 0.04) despite participation in the program. The program

reduced anemia and malnutrition and has improved child growth

 28

in our study group greatly, but study found that education level

of the mother, family size and absence of a father overruled

the effect of the school feeding program. Because sample size

of the study is small, the study encourages further large-

scaled research on reviewing programmatic interventions to

develop optimal feeding strategies and improve nutritional

status of children.

McEwan (2012) conducted a study on the impact

of Chile’s school feeding program on education

outcomes. Chile operates one of the oldest and

largest school feeding programs in Latin America,

targeting higher-calorie meals to relatively poorer

schools. This study evaluates the impact of higher-

calorie meals on the education outcomes of public,

rural schools and their students. It applies a

regression-discontinuity design to administrative

data, including school enrolment and attendance,

first-grade enrolment age and grade repetition, and

fourth grade test scores. There is no evidence,

across a range of specifications and samples, that

additional calories affect these variables. The

study suggests that the focus of Chilean policy

 29

should further shift to the nutritional composition

of school meals, rather than the caloric content.

The research studies from different countries presented

similar and related findings of the conditions of children

suffering from malnutrition and the importance of developing

and implementing efficient, equitable and effective well-

planned and well managed programs on health and nutrition

through exerted effort of both the local national and local

government in collaboration of different agencies.

Local Studies

The various local studies in the Philippines contained in

this study centers in the conditions of Filipino children and

the intervention programs implemented one of which is the School

Based Feeding Program where agencies were mandated by the

government to develop and implement. Hence, studies in

School Feeding Programs and its impact to educational

achievement, role in forming eating habits and or

improving the physical and psychosocial health of

disadvantaged were also conducted.

Tabunda et al. (2016)study the impact evaluation

 30

of DepED’s SBFP found out that except for inaccurate

measurement of nutritional status variable and

improper documentation of the program in all its three

phases (prefeeding, feeding and post-feeding) the

program was generally implemented well by the

beneficiary schools and welcomed not only by the program

beneficiaries and their parent.

The study conducted by Rivera, (2012) on the

School-Based Feeding Program of Tarlac revealed that

SBFP implementation as to its coverage is outstanding

while the duration and resources is very satisfactocry

and the financial allocation and facilities are

adequate. In addition, the study also revealed that

SBFPs complimentary activities such as ‘Gulayan sa

Paaralan’ and the ‘Essential Health Care Program were

highly implemented. Furthermore, the strategies used by

the feeding program implementers are generally very

satisfactory.

Based on the foregoing findings and conclusions,

the researcher recommends the continuation of the

school-based feeding program (SBFP) and the

 31

strengthening of the Gulayan sa Paaralan and Essential

Health Care Program, Constant and strict monitoring and

evaluation of the program should also be conducted.

Linkages with parents and local government units and

other stakeholders should also be encouraged.

Accountability of school heads and other school

personnel on the implementation of the SBFP should be

strengthened.

Mancuso et al. (2013) conducted a study on the

School Feeding Program’s role in forming eating habits

to identify teaching managers' perceptions regarding

the relationship of school feeding and the promotion of

healthy eating habits among students. A descriptive

study with a qualitative approach was developed in the

city of Guarulhos (Southeast Brazil). Key informants

from municipal public schools were interviewed. Public

schools were selected (n=13) and classified as to the

level of social exclusion, size and economic activity

of the region where the school was located. Pedagogic

coordinators and school principals were individually

interviewed with semi- structured questions. The

 32

results of the study were from school principals and

pedagogical coordinators' perceptions, three

categories were identified: Food in the school context;

School feeding program's role and the Concept of food

and nutrition security, which indicate that they

considered meals as part of school routine in order to

attain physiological needs of energy and nutrients.

Their answers also indicated that they did not consider

school meals as a pedagogical action related to their

specific responsibilities.

SYNTHESIS

School feeding program as a social safety net has been

popular in developing countries as an instrument for achieving

Millennium Develop Goals. These program are frequently targeted

toward populations that are food insecure and reside in areas

with high concentrations of families from low socio economic

status or towards schools that face poor attendance and

enrolment of students. There are many studies that have

evaluated the impacts of school feeding. Australian researchers

as cited in Jacka et al (2010) mentioned above have recently

 33

begun conducting research on diet and its association with

symptoms of mental illness and found out that how diet relates

to the increase and decrease of symptoms of mental health

related problems.

While the above relate nutrition to psychological

conditions Chinyoka (2014)studied how nutrition impact academic

performance of children and although the researcher found out

the direct link between the two variable the extent to which

nutrition impact in each particular areas of school performance

were not identified.

Parallel study has been conducted by McEwan (2012) on the

impact and Chiles’s feeding program on the school performance

and applied regression-discontinuity design to assess school

enrolment and attendance, first-grade enrolment age and

grade repetition, and fourth grade test scores in

relation to calorie content. The conducted study found

out that there is no evidence that additional calorie

intake affects the mentioned variable across range of

specification.

Local researches conducted by Tabuda (2016) on the

impact evaluation of DepED’s SBFP and on Rivera

(2012)on on the School-Based Feeding Program of Tarlac

 34

both affirmed that the School Based Feeding program has

been marked with appropriate implementation. However,

the evidence on the impact of the impact of this programs is

not always conclusive.

The inclusiveness of the local research conducted has been

identified by Lawson (2013) and presented a conceptual

framework of how the Food FOR Eduaction (FFE) programs work,

how they impact children and families, and how they can be

linked to agricultural development. The study used the

systematic review of the literature to assess the effectiveness

of these program in achieving educational, nutritional and

agricultural development goals. The study successfully

conducted a protocol for the identification of twenty six

studies from across academic disciplines including economics,

nutrition and education. Analysis of the information extracted

from these shows that school feeding program conclusively

impact the micronutrient level of targeted children but have

modest and mixed effects on health outcomes as evaluated by

anthropometric measurement. However the research also

acknowledge the limitation of the study to establish impact on

cognitive level although the programs present it advantage in

addressing attendance and enrolment of the school especially

 35

for girls. Furthermore the research also acknowledge the

shortness of evidence that links cost effectiveness of the

school in delivering desirable outcomes.

The gaps that exists in the presented synthesis calls for

researchers to develop more systematic, comprehensive, and

sophisticated studies to prove and validate data of the

conducted researches. This present challenge to academicians,

researcher, program developers to conduct scholarly studies to

arrive at a more conclusive data in order to determine the

strength to which the program is effective enough to address

the needs of pupils.

 36

REFERENCES:

BOOKS

- Aantoos, CM (2010). Heirarchy of needs. Salem health.

Psychology and mental health (Vol.3) Piotrowski (Ed.).
Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
- Miller, P. (2011). Theories of developmental psychology. New
York, NY: Worth Publisher

JOURNAL ARTICLE

- Hatice Başkale; Zuhal Bahar; Günsel Başer; Meziyet Ari Use

of Piaget's theory in preschool nutrition education Rev.
Nutr. vol.22 no.6 Campinas Nov./Dec. 2009

- Neervoort, F. et. al. (2012) . Effects of a school feeding

programme on nutritional status and anemia in an urban slum:
A preliminary evaluation in Kenya, Journal of Tropical
Pediatrics, Vol 59, June 2013

- UNICEF-Philippines (2016). Management of SAM in

the Philippines: from emergency-
focused modelling to national policy and
government scale-up Aashima Garg, Anthony Calibo,
Rene Galera, Andrew Bucu, Rosalia Paje and
Willibald Zeck.

- Yadav, S. et. al. (2016).An epidemiological study on

malnutrition among under five children of rural and urban
Haryana. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, Vol
10(2)
 37

PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED THESIS

- Tabunda, Ana Maria L., Albert Jose Ramon G and
Agdeppa-Angeles Imelda: Results on an Impact
Evaluation Study on DepED’s School-Based Feeding.
PDIS Discussion Paper Series No. 2016-05

ONLINE RESEARCH

- Chinyoka, Kudzai (2014) Impact of Poor Nutrition on

the Academic Performance of Grade Seven learners:
A Case of Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe University
Department of Educational Foundations.
International Journal of Learning &
Development ISSN 2164-4063 2014, Vol. 4, No. 3
Retrieved on May 3, 2019 from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.684.8200&rep=rep1&type=pdf

- Mancuso-Cervato, Ana Maria; Westpha, Marcia

Faria; Araki, Erica Lie;Bógus,Claudia Maria (2013)
School feeding programs' role in forming eating
habits.Rev. paul. pediatr. vol.31 no.3 São
Paulo Sept. 2013.Retrieved from
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&
pid=S0 103- 05822013000300324

- McEwan Patrick J (2012). The Impact of Chile’s

School Feeding Program on Education Outcomes
Economics Education Review © 2012 Elsevier Ltd
Retrieved on April 30 from
academics.wellesley.edu/Economics/mcewan/

- Smith L. (1997). A brief biography of Jean Piaget. [cited

2009 Mar 22]. Available from:
<http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html>

- UNICEF (2016) Malnutrition in the Philippines.

 38

Retrieved from www.unicef.org/philippines/health-

nutriton.htm

- Woodhouse, P. (2012). The relationship of food academic

Christian Perspective Education in, 5(1)performance: A
preliminary Examination of the factors of neuroscience,
malnutrition and dietary adequacy,”
http://digitakcommons.liberty.ed /cpe/vol5/iss/1

- World Health Organisation, Complementary Feeding. 2011.

[5/06/2011].http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/complementary
_feeding/en/index.html.

OTHER SOURCES

- DepED Order No. 33, s. 2015 - Implementation of

School-Based Based Feeding Program 30 Jul 2015.
Retrieved from www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-33-s-2015

- DepED Order No. 37, s. 2014 - Implementation of

School-Based Feeding Program. 18 August,
2014.Retrieved from www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-37-s-
2014

- DepED Order No. 54, s. 2013 - Guidelines on the

Implementation of School Feeding Program (SFPs).
20 Dec 2013.Retrieved from
www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-54-s-2014

- Rivera, L., Provincial Government, NGO’s forge

partnerships to solve malnutrition among school
kids. DepED Link Volume V No, (2014)
 39

- UNICEF - Philippines:(2015). DOH and UNICEF launch

national guidelines to end malnutrition.
Nov 5, 2015.