At least 50 pilot beneficiaries of the "2027 Walang Gutom: Food Stamp Program" of the Department of Social Welfare and Development were able to finish the fifth and last Nutrition Education Session last Wednesday in Tondo, Manila.

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

World Food Programme Philippines country ad-interim director Dipayan Bhattacharyya was also in Tondo to witness the graduation ceremonies.

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 Punay and 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 in 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.