By Nef Luczon
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The provincial government of Camiguin on Monday continued its free milk feeding sessions for schoolchildren, with the program now reaching fully vaccinated preschoolers aged three to five.
Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo said the initiative is under the Growing Right for Optimum Well-being (Grow) Milk Supplementation program.
“We also ensured the quality and freshness of the milk being distributed to help them grow,” he said in a news release.
Romualdo said the Grow Program is a strategic nutrition intervention managed through multi-level government partnerships to combat child malnutrition and stunting across the island province, based on the mandates of Republic Act 11037 or An Act Institutionalizing a National Feeding Program for Undernourished Children (Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act).
The program targets fully vaccinated preschool children aged three to five years and collaborates with local governments, like Catarman and Mambajao, to supply fresh milk directly to preschoolers. It is implemented in partnership with the Department of Education and the National Dairy Authority (NDA) of the Department of Agriculture.
Camiguin’s milk feeding efforts trace back to 2016, when the provincial government established a dairy production initiative under then-governor Jesus Jardin Romualdo.
By 2018, the province was producing about 2,863 liters of milk monthly from a herd at Mount Campana in Mambajao, with at least 75 elementary pupils receiving milk regularly.
The province’s nutrition challenge remains significant despite these efforts. Camiguin posted the highest stunting rate in Northern Mindanao at 10.20 percent in 2024, along with the highest wasting prevalence at 4.09 percent, according to PSA data.
The World Health Organization classifies the stunting rate as “medium public health significance.”
At the national level, the NDA has been strengthening its partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) for the School-Based Feeding Program, following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s declaration in the 2026 State of the Nation Address that child nutrition remains a priority.
The DA and DepEd signed a Joint Administrative Order in July 2026 institutionalizing the nationwide milk feeding component, expected to benefit about 4.5 million learners while channeling over PHP3 billion toward locally produced milk.
Camiguin’s Grow Program aligns with this national framework by sourcing fresh milk from local dairy producers and directing it to preschool children in partner municipalities. (PNA)
KIDS NUTRITION. Fresh milk being served at a feeding program in Mambajao, Camiguin on Monday (Nov. 9, 2026). The activity is part of the Growing Right for Optimum Well-being Milk Supplementation program of the provincial government. (Photo courtesy of PLGU Camiguin)
