GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The city government will expand this week the operations of its innovative community kitchens to deliver food to more children and other residents here who were affected by the enhanced community quarantine.
Philip Pabelic, an executive assistant at the City Mayor’s Office, said Monday they are set to open at least 30 more community kitchens that will feed children at least twice a day for free until the end of the quarantine period.
Pabelic said these will supplement the ongoing operations of the 70 daycare centers in the city’s major barangays tapped for the feeding program.
The existing community kitchens have been providing cooked meals twice a day to 35,000 children in the city, he said.
“We’re targeting to double our coverage to 70,000 children,” Pabelic told reporters, adding the kitchens are being manned by community volunteers who cook different meals like arrozcaldo, champorado, bihon, boiled eggs, and sweet potatoes.
Supported by the local government and various private donors, the community kitchens operate from Monday to Saturday.
Pabelic assured that community kitchens follow health and safety protocols to contain the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19), especially on the physical distancing rule.
"We strictly implement the no mask, no food policy,” he added.
A brainchild of Jane Gollon-Rivera, the wife of Mayor Ronnel Rivera, the outdoor kitchens are being supplied by the local government with ingredients in coordination with Department of Health-trained dieticians.
In a statement, Gollon-Rivera said she pushed for the opening of the community kitchens to ensure that children are provided with nutritious food during the quarantine period.
“Relief packs are usually designed to fight hunger and starvation, but most of the time we forget the nutritional aspect,” she said.
She said each of the city’s 70 community kitchens currently feeds at least 500 kids twice a day. (PNA)
* Stay at Home and START YOUR OWN blog site, business or personal website, or e-commerce store at
www.wirenine.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=101524.0
Topic: GenSan to open more community kitchens (Read 211 times)