The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Thursday congratulated the first batch of pilot beneficiaries of the 2027 Walang Gutom: Food Stamp Program who were able to finish the fifth and last Nutrition Education Session on Wednesday (13 December) in Tondo, Manila.

DSWD Undersecretary for Innovations Eduardo Punay and Asst. Secretary for Innovations Atty. Baldr Bringas distributed the certificates of completion to the 50 FSP pilot beneficiaries in Barangay 154 in Tondo.

"Kami ay lubos na nagagalak sa inyong partisipasyon sa Food Stamp Program. Sana ay magamit ninyo ang inyong mga natutunan sa nutrition education sessions upang makapagluto ng mura at masustansyang mga pagkain sa inyong mga pamilya,(We are glad for your participation in the Food Stamp Program. I hope you can use what you learned in the nutrition education sessions to cook inexpensive and healthy meals for your families.)" Usec. Punay said in his short message.

World Food Programme Philippine Country Director, ad-interim, Dipayan Bhattacharyya was also in Tondo to witness the graduation ceremonies of the 50 FSP pilot beneficiaries.

After the session, the beneficiaries were able to redeem and purchase nutritious food items through their electronic benefit transfer cards loaded with P3,000 worth of food credits in the Kadiwa ng Pangulo stalls available in the area.

To ensure that the beneficiaries will not return to their former food-poor status, the DSWD National Capital Region Field Office will conduct house-to-house visits to monitor the status of the beneficiaries.

On the same day, the FSP Technical Working Group led by Usec. Punay and Asst. Sec. Bringas conducted a community validation and scope registration in Del Pan, also in Tondo, as part of the scale-up implementation for the program.

Some 1,450 beneficiaries in Tondo, Manila are expected to benefit from the scale-up implementation of the Marcos Administration's flagship program by next year.

The FSP provides a holistic approach to combat involuntary hunger by providing its beneficiaries with access to monetary-based assistance and also invites them to become more productive citizens by participating in capacity building and training to improve their employable skills.