Businesses support DepEd's OMG program

Big business has come to the aid of the Department of Education (DepEd) as it pursues a campaign to promote vegetable gardening among public school children, and the setting up of vegetable patches in public schools all over the country.

Banco De Oro Universal Bank (BDO), Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI), the Aboitiz Foundation, Sunwest Care Foundation and the Infant and Pediatric Nutrition Association of the Philippines recently signed a memorandum of agreement with DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro and Sen. Edgardo Angara, lead advocate of the “Oh My Gulay!” (OMG) vegetable planting promotion campaign in schools, wherein the entities committed to each adopt a school and provide the P65,000 financial assistance for the campaign.

BDO, represented by chair Tessie Sy-Coson, will adopt 15 public schools; ATI represented by president Eusebio Tanco, will adopt 10; Aboitiz Foundation, 6 schools; Sunwest Care 5, and the IPNAP, 4 schools.

Luistro said that DepEd was pushing for the OMG program to address the malnutrition problem in many schools where it will be effectively implemented.

At present, there are some 6,000 public elementary and high schools involving 1.8 million students to be covered by the OMG project.

 “While 6,000seem like a big number, it only represents 15% of all public schools in the country,” noted Luistro.

The Gulayan sa Paaralan needs more pro-active collaboration with stakeholders from the government and the private sector especially in the area of a more aggressive social marketing, he said. 

DepEd said that studies have shown that among South East Asians, Filipinos rank lowest in vegetable consumption at 40 kilograms per head each year. This is in contrast to China whose consumption is 250 kilos per head each year.

Latest figure from the Food and Nutrition Research Council showed that 26 in very 100 children (6-10 years old – 25.6%) or about 1.8 million school children are underweight for their age; 33 in every 100 children (6-10 years old – 33.1 %) or about 1.2 million school children are stunted or short for their age and 20 in every 100 school children (6-12 years old – 19.8%) are anemic Luistro noted that the advocacy on healthy diet focused on eating more vegetables and fruits are drowned out by a more aggressive advertising campaign of fast food chains which push for more meat consumption.

DepEd’s goal is to establish a sustainable vegetable garden in all of the country’s 42, 076 public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

Luistro reiterates that he envisions the Gulayan sa Paaralan not just a one-shot deal but a year-round activity. “Until such time that we are able to bring back to the consciousness of our youth that eating fruits and vegetables is best for our health and best for the family budget,” said Luistro.