Gulayan Sa Paaralan raises physical and mental alertness of students in elementary school in Negros Oriental

An improvement in physical and mental alertness was noticed among undernourished students in Balugo Elementary School in Negros Oriental. According to Noel Ramirez, Gulayan sa Paaralan (GPP) coordinator, noticeable progress was observed among undernourished students after being fed regularly with vegetables from the GPP program which commenced in 2019.

Ramirez said that 33 students in Balugo were identified with acute malnutrition or low weight for height for Philippine health standards. The situation qualified their school to be a recipient of the GPP program.

Irene Calugcugan, canteen coordinator said that they serve cooked veggies to the undernourished students every day with varying menus.

Interestingly, the progress in nutrition was observed after daily monitoring of the students’ performance in school. Ramirez considered the improvement as a direct impact of the GPP when a reduction of more than half or 17 of the undernourished students recovered in 2021. The GPP program is currently working on the health improvement of the other 16 students who are closely monitored and provided with healthy foods daily even during the pandemic times.

The Department of Agriculture’s intervention in the GPP is the distribution of seeds and farm tools to public schools. In 2020, the DA granted a total of 50 kilos of assorted seeds of eggplant, spinach, okra, tomato, squash, sweet pepper, lettuce, and string beans for the GPP program in Negros Oriental.

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