The city of Muntinlupa won its first Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition or CROWN award from the National Nutrition Council in recognition of its efforts to improve the nutrition situation and eradicate child malnutrition over the last three years.

Muntinlupa also received the Green Banner Seal of Compliance Award from the NNC for 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, while Alabang's Barangay Nutrition Scholar Alicia Tanabe was named by NNC as the Outstanding BNS of 2022.

Mayor Ruffy Biazon received the award on behalf of the city during the NNC ceremony on 12 February.

"We thank the City Nutrition Committee and to everyone who made this award possible," he said.

The CROWN award is the highest recognition for local government units that consistently implement effective nutrition programs.

As the National Outstanding Barangay Nutrition Scholar for 2022, Tanabe stood out among her peers. BNS are community health workers tasked with promoting health and nutrition programs in the barangay level. They serve as a vital link between families and the local nutrition councils, identifying families and individuals needing intervention, and acting as a go-between to ensure positive results.

Among Tanabe's initiatives are "EaTiNg Program," a 120-day feeding project for malnourished children and pregnant/lactating mothers.

Her urban gardening program in one of the puroks in Alabang provides food for daycare children.

The Philippine Information Agency reports that she actively conducts house-to-house visits to educate parents on preparing nutritious meals, particularly for malnourished children.

She promotes a healthy lifestyle through lecturing and counseling pregnant and lactating mothers on the importance of proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life.

Tanabe also works with Barangay Health Workers to ensure that pregnant mothers who skip prenatal check-ups get referred to the health center.

Further, the BNS organized mothers to collect and sell used plastic bottles, carton boxes, newspapers, and other recyclable materials to raise money for buying snacks for participants of various nutrition education initiatives around the barangay.

The CROWN awardee received a cash prize of half a million pesos while the NOBNS awardee received P150,000.