A total of 1,219 Legazpi City residents began receiving food assistance through the national government’s Walang Gutom Program, facilitated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), during a three-day food redemption activity that started on Wednesday.

An initial 375 beneficiaries from various barangays and sectors—including indigent families, senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), solo parents, and women—redeemed food packages worth PHP3,000 each at the Legazpi City Convention Center during the activity, which will run from Nov. 11 to 13.

The packages contain rice and food items classified under the Go, Grow, and Glow categories to help meet the nutritional needs of beneficiary households.

The current redemption marks the beneficiaries’ 10th food assistance cycle this year. Under the program, qualified beneficiaries may receive monthly food assistance for up to three years, provided they comply with program requirements.

For Gracita Arnedo, a housewife and mother of three whose husband works as a farmer, the assistance helps provide food for her family’s daily needs.

She thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the program, noting that it has helped many low-income families, including her own.

“This is a big help with our daily needs because we no longer have to buy food or worry about where our next meal will come from,” Arnedo said.

Meanwhile, Noeme Tablate, 52, of Barangay Cagbacong, said the food package helps reduce household expenses, allowing her to redirect the money saved on food toward her child’s schooling.

“Instead of spending money on food, I can now use it for my child’s school expenses,” she said.

Renilda Babasa, a housewife and mother of five, whose husband is a tricycle driver, said the monthly food assistance helps sustain her family’s food supply.

Babasa said the food package lasts her family a month, so they only need to buy the additional items they need.

“This is enough for our family for a month. We only need to buy the items we lack,” she said, adding that she was grateful to be among the program’s beneficiaries.

The Walang Gutom Program is a national government initiative under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration, aimed at addressing involuntary hunger and improving access to nutritious food for food-poor Filipino households. (PNA)