To fill the nutritional gap among young school children and to address the hunger and malnourishment problem made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Government of Valenzuela, through the Department of Education (DepEd) Valenzuela Division Office, begins distributing E-Nutribuns to students from the Central District of the city today, November 3, 2020

Some 2,600 young pupils are among the first batch of recipients of the E-Nutribuns brought to the Malinta Elementary School.

This PhP 9.1M-program is part of the continuing Alagang Valenzuelano Chikiting Food Patrol initiative, the City’s very own feeding program for kindergarten to Grade 6 students who are wasted or severely wasted or those who have low weight for their height. DepEd Valenzuela targets to supply 7,662 learners with E-Nutribuns weekly until the end of December 2020.

“Our K-6 feeding program resumes. But because there are no face-to-face classes, the parents will be the ones to pick up the children’s Nutribun provision. One (1) Nutribun pack is good for a week’s consumption,” City Mayor REX Gatchalian explains.

A brainchild of the DOST Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST- FNRI), the Enhanced Nutribun or E-Nutribun, is a much-improved version of the NutriBun, which was touted as the solution to malnutrition in the 1970s.

The E-Nutribun is made mainly from vitamin-A rich squash purée. Nutrition studies reveal that a regular meal of Filipino children is typically poor in this nutrient and a serving of the E-Nutribun alone can already fill 60% of the children’s vitamin A needs.

Sans artificial coloring or preservatives, it is also packed with iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, and fiber. Each 160-165-gram bun is in itself a full meal with 504 calories apiece and provides the children’s dietary requirement for micronutrients, energy, and protein. The bun’s texture is also softer, requiring little effort especially for young children to hold, bite, and finish it.

The City’s official E-Nutribun supplier, Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-accredited Tinapayan Festival, delivers a fresh supply of these baked goods to designated schools that serve as pick-up points.

The schools belonging to the district then collect the Nutribun supply from the pick-up points, and from there, the parents get their children’s bread stock come distribution time.

While training on the new bun technology is available for local entrepreneurs and technology adopters, talks are still underway between the DOST and the Valenzuela City local government unit (LGU) regarding the technology transfer of E-Nutribun production.

The LGU can likewise tap private entities or Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to bring the E-Nutribun to the city.