LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (PIA) — The Department of Education (DepEd) is advancing sustainable and experiential programs that ensure learner development.
Its Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) not only provides students with hands-on learning in agriculture, environmental care, and food sustainability, but also serves as a reliable source of fresh produce for DepEd’s school-based feeding program.
“One of the program’s primary objectives is to serve as a practical learning laboratory for students. They should be the ones managing the gardens because that is where they apply the experiential learning taught by their teachers,” explained Diane Joaquin, a Nutritionist-Dietitian at DepEd-Cordillera.
“The harvest from the school garden is sometimes used for feeding programs or sold to community members. Currently, with hot meals being served, it has become a major source of vegetables,” Joaquin added.
The GPP has yielded positive results in various schools across the Cordillera Region.
“Most of the school gardens we assessed last year were at Level 1, or the Sibol level. Nevertheless, the program is established and remains a primary source of vegetables for our school-based feeding initiative,” Joaquin said.
For implementers like Buyagan Elementary School, the GPP proved vital in minimizing operational costs, particularly before dedicated funding for the feeding program was released.
“Nakamenos gastos kami idi awan paylang pundo diyay feeding. Nu adda ti kuwan mi, isu iti apan mi alaen, iluto mi, ayaban dagijay beneficiaries, isu ti ipakan mi kada isuda. Nu gulay met, dagitoy petchay, agluto kami ti inapoy, tapos diyay petchay isu ti iseserve mi kinyada,” said Regina Bejar, a teacher at Buyagan Elementary School.
(This saved us a lot for the feeding program when funding was not yet available. Whenever we harvested vegetables like pechay, we also cooked rice which we served to the beneficiaries.)
“Ilako mi nu sobra nga haan nga kanen ti ubbing, tapos diyay money, igatang mi mausar ijay feeding met lang” Bejar added.
(If there is excess produce that the children cannot consume, we sell it and use the proceeds to buy other items needed for the feeding program.)
The GPP aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen nutrition initiatives across educational institutions nationwide. **JDP/CVBT-PIA CAR
