Food for thought during the
Nutrition Month
By Rey Anthony H. Chiu
BOHOL, Aug. 5 (PIA)--– To those who think that nutritious food is
costly, think again.
Barangay health workers (BHWs) and agriculture officials believed
malnutrition in Bohol is due to laziness and plain indifference, not because of
poverty that restricts a family's option for healthy food.
During the weekly Kapihan sa PIA both BHWs Natividad Torrevillas and Judith Bonhayag said good nutrition can be easily had in one’s back or front yard.
“You do not need to buy, because all that the body needs for a healthy and productive life can be sourced out, fresh and organic from your garden,” Torrevillas said.
And talking of backyard gardening, Sergio Cuaco, crops division chief at the Provincial Agriculture quickly inserted in the discussion the unforgettable image of the Bahay Kubo in the Philippines.
A typical nipa hut in the song showcases a garden planted with assorted vegetables like singkamas, eggplant, (talong) sireguelas at peanuts (mani). String beans (sitaw) bataw, patani, kundol, gourd (patola), upo, squash (kalabasa), labanos, mustasa, onions (sebuyas) tomatoes (kamatis), garlic (bawang) and ginger (luy-a).
A Filipino folksong, Bahay Kubo has now become a catchword for a local campaign for food sufficiency in Bohol where households down to the smallest purok are enjoined to start cultivating patches of gardens in the backyard.
Bohol governor Edgar Chatto has aggressively pushed for the Food Always in the Home (FAITH) using the bahay kubo model.
To complete the picture, Chatto instructed Bohol agricultural workers to also relentlessly campaign for Chicken which are Always Raised In The Yard (ChARITY).
When you have the vegetables in the backyard, raising chicken gives you eggs which man needs, while meat can be within reach easily, Chatto added.
It is easy, but we have to engage all members of the family so the children can also understand the value of work, added Eleno Evangelista, Bohol Agriculture Program Promotions and Marketing Chief.
We can even give them the seeds they will need to grow in the garden, Evangelista said.
The OPA hands out vegetable seeds and seedlings to motivate Boholanos into joining the fight against malnutrition.
“It all starts with the right education,” Bonhayag said, adding that the modern age of fast food has unwittingly conditioned parents’ minds into surrendering to the lure of easy to cook fast food.
Bonhayag said it is never too late for parents, especially those who have children aged 0-7 years who are underweight, to pick up the nutrition guide which health workers disseminate in clustered learning teams commonly named Pabasa sa Nutrisyon groups. (mbcn/rahc/PIA7-Bohol)
During the weekly Kapihan sa PIA both BHWs Natividad Torrevillas and Judith Bonhayag said good nutrition can be easily had in one’s back or front yard.
“You do not need to buy, because all that the body needs for a healthy and productive life can be sourced out, fresh and organic from your garden,” Torrevillas said.
And talking of backyard gardening, Sergio Cuaco, crops division chief at the Provincial Agriculture quickly inserted in the discussion the unforgettable image of the Bahay Kubo in the Philippines.
A typical nipa hut in the song showcases a garden planted with assorted vegetables like singkamas, eggplant, (talong) sireguelas at peanuts (mani). String beans (sitaw) bataw, patani, kundol, gourd (patola), upo, squash (kalabasa), labanos, mustasa, onions (sebuyas) tomatoes (kamatis), garlic (bawang) and ginger (luy-a).
A Filipino folksong, Bahay Kubo has now become a catchword for a local campaign for food sufficiency in Bohol where households down to the smallest purok are enjoined to start cultivating patches of gardens in the backyard.
Bohol governor Edgar Chatto has aggressively pushed for the Food Always in the Home (FAITH) using the bahay kubo model.
To complete the picture, Chatto instructed Bohol agricultural workers to also relentlessly campaign for Chicken which are Always Raised In The Yard (ChARITY).
When you have the vegetables in the backyard, raising chicken gives you eggs which man needs, while meat can be within reach easily, Chatto added.
It is easy, but we have to engage all members of the family so the children can also understand the value of work, added Eleno Evangelista, Bohol Agriculture Program Promotions and Marketing Chief.
We can even give them the seeds they will need to grow in the garden, Evangelista said.
The OPA hands out vegetable seeds and seedlings to motivate Boholanos into joining the fight against malnutrition.
“It all starts with the right education,” Bonhayag said, adding that the modern age of fast food has unwittingly conditioned parents’ minds into surrendering to the lure of easy to cook fast food.
Bonhayag said it is never too late for parents, especially those who have children aged 0-7 years who are underweight, to pick up the nutrition guide which health workers disseminate in clustered learning teams commonly named Pabasa sa Nutrisyon groups. (mbcn/rahc/PIA7-Bohol)