DSWD opens first Walang Gutom Kitchen in Eastern Visayas
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) inaugurated its Walang Gutom Kitchen (WGK) in Catbalogan City, Samar, on Monday, 12 October.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the inauguration of the facility, the first WGK in Eastern Visayas, in partnership with the provincial government of Samar.
“For this Walang Gutom Kitchen, first, we are thankful to the province because it lent us the facility and responded to our needs for the physical space. The province also handled the renovation,” Gatchalian told local reporters.
“That is a big help to the DSWD because it saves us costs, allowing us to use the money instead to buy the food that will be served here,” he added.
The newly opened facility is the agency’s fourth soup kitchen, aimed at providing hot meals to individuals and families experiencing involuntary hunger, including children and seasonal workers.
Gatchalian stressed that some families experience hunger or struggle to make ends meet, including those who earn an income but still do not have enough to cover their needs.
“Similar to what we experienced in other places, there are parents whose children have no money for school allowances, so they first bring them here to the soup kitchen to eat breakfast before going to school. Then, when they return at lunchtime, they can eat again,” he pointed out.
“There are also what we call seasonal workers, such as tricycle drivers who pay boundary fees or construction workers who are not sure how much they will earn. They can also eat here, and the money they save can be used for other expenses,” the DSWD chief added.
The DSWD currently operates soup kitchens in Pasay City in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cebu City in Central Visayas, Zamboanga City in Mindanao, and now Catbalogan City in Eastern Visayas.
The agency plans to establish three more kitchens in the Caraga Region, the NCR, and another region with a high incidence of involuntary hunger before the end of the year.
“We are looking at three more potential sites before the year ends. The more soup kitchens we have, the more dignity and hope we can restore,” Gatchalian said.
The new soup kitchen, located at the Samar Provincial Youth Development Center on 7th Street in Barangay 13, Patag District, is open daily from 6 a.m. until food supplies last.
The facility can serve 200 hot meals daily, with the capacity to expand its operations over time.
The Samar provincial government has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to help children from poor families access free meals.