DSWD to scale up food stamp program starting July

The Department of Social Welfare and Development over the weekend said it is set to scale up its implementation of the "Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program (FSP)" starting July.

“Ang plano po natin is by July, makapag-scale up na tayo from 3,000 to 300,000 beneficiaries. Mag-rurun [ang programa] for another year. So the following year, we will add another 300,000, so that will total 600,000 beneficiaries for 2025. By 2027, hopefully, ma-onboard na natin yung 1 million beneficiaries (Our plan is that by July, we will be able to scale up from 3,000 to 300,000 beneficiaries. [The program] will run for another year. So the following year, we will add another 300,000, so that will total 600,000 beneficiaries for 2025. By 2027, hopefully, we will be able to onboard the 1 million beneficiaries),” DSWD Assistant Secretary for Innovations Baldr Bringas said.

Currently, the FSP program has a total of 2,285 registered beneficiaries from five pilot areas. These are Tondo, Manila; San Mariano town in Isabela; Dapa municipality in Siargao; Garchitorena in Camarines Sur; and Parang, Maguindanao.

Aside from additional beneficiaries, Bringas said the FSP pilot implementation has 17 accredited retailers. The program intends to accredit more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help more marginalized groups in the country by building an “ecosystem of supply and demand.”

“Kaya po gusto natin itong gawin kasi iniimplement po natin ang program na hindi lang po isang grupo o isang sector ang natutulungan natin kundi maraming sector ng ating society. Sa one side natutulungan natin ang poorest of the poor na households sa ating bansa and at the same time, natutulungan din natin ang isa rin sa pinakamahihirap na sector, ang ating mga kapatid na mga magsasaka (We want to do this because we are implementing the program not only by helping one group or one sector, but many sectors of our society. On the one hand we help the poorest of the poor households in our country and, at the same time, we also help one of the poorest sectors, our farmers),” Bringas explained.

The FSP is a flagship program of the national government that aims to reduce the prevalence of involuntary hunger experienced by low-income households while helping them become productive citizens of the country through a whole-of-nation approach.

Digital Mapping System

Another anti-hunger initiative discussed by Bringas during the media forum is the Digital Mapping System (DMS) under the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Convergence Program.

The DMS is an initiative that aims to strengthen the capacities of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and small-holder farmers by linking them to prospective markets such as the DSWD’s Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), and other institutional feeding programs of various agencies.

Similar with the FSP, the DMS aims to help build an ecosystem of supply and demand to improve the food system in the country.