DSWD taps hotel owners to boost food supply

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has partnered with the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) and Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Philippines to help stabilize the food supply in the DSWD’s Walang Gutom Kitchen (WGK) and restore hope to children, families, and individuals in street situations, many of whom experience involuntary hunger.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, PHOA President Arthur Lopez, and SOS Philippines National Manager Rachel Marie Luna signed a tripartite memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Tuesday, 2 December, at the DSWD Central Office in Batasan, Quezon City.

Under the partnership, PHOA will mobilize its member hotels to donate surplus food and non-food items to the WGK, while SOS Philippines will handle the delivery and logistics of bringing these goods to the food bank. The DSWD will receive and utilize the donated food exclusively for the WGK.

In his message, Secretary Gatchalian emphasized that beyond financial aid, the Department’s deeper mission is to help people reclaim hope—something often lost amid hunger and homelessness.

“On another note, I was talking to a communications person before who was always telling me that whenever people see the DSWD, they see the material side of our Department — ayuda, cash grants. But the deeper meaning of the DSWD, I guess, should be what we restore. We are in the business of restoring hope, and I have seen, when I go to the kitchen, the lack of hope, or hopelessness in the face of hungry people,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

He added that the expanded partnership will be essential in reaching more individuals and families facing hunger and homelessness.

“When you're thinking about what meal to eat the next hour, it can be very, very difficult, and it defaces a person. It takes away every dignity that you have, it strips you of every pride or every self-worth that you have,” he said.

“We realized early on in the Department that we are in the business of bringing back hope. But we know it's very difficult to bring back hope by ourselves. But with partners like PHOA and SOS Philippines, we are quite confident that we can actually bring back hope to the hungry,” the DSWD chief added.

Under the agreement, PHOA will mobilize its member hotels to donate safe, viable, and edible surplus food, as well as serviceable non-food items, to the WGK. The association will also promote the initiative across the hospitality sector to boost participation.

PHOA President Lopez expressed the group’s full support for the WGK, describing the initiative as one that “creates a beautiful cycle, a transforming potential of food excess, including nutritious meals, and our shared pride against hunger.”

“As the representative body of the hotel owners nationwide, PHOA proudly pledges our full support to the Walang Gutom Kitchen project. We are confident, we will not just meet our goals, but exponentially widen our reach, bringing dignity and nourishment to more communities in need,” Lopez said.

As logistics partner and food rescuer, SOS Philippines will collect, transport, and turn over donated surplus food and non-food items from PHOA member hotels and other sources to the WGK.

“This partnership demonstrates that solutions to complex problems such as hunger are possible when we work creatively and collaboratively. It is about finding new ways to make every meal count, to give value to what would otherwise go to waste, and to ensure that communities across the Philippines can access nutritious meals,” Luna said.

The WGK is one of the DSWD’s innovative programs supporting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s long-standing goal to end hunger and ensure that no Filipino family goes hungry. Beyond providing nutritious hot meals to its beneficiaries, the WGK helps reduce food wastage by turning surplus food from hotels, restaurants, and organizations into ready-to-eat meals.

The WGK continues operations at the Nasdake Building in Pasay City, a former POGO hub transformed into a food bank through public-private sector collaboration.