Below is an article published by Philippine Information Agency:

With the Healthy Start Feeding Program (HSFP) proven as an effective program in improving the nutritional status of day care children in the Cordillera, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has recently expanded the program in Ifugao and Mountain Province.

DSWD-Cordillera Nutrition Program Focal Person, Marcia Espinueva, said the HSFP aims to serve nutritious'hot meals' to about 4,000 day care kids for 60 school days in the two provinces.

The HSFP has already provided nutritious 'hot meals' to about 21,000 day care children in Abra, Apayao and Kalinga in the early part of this year alone.

According to Espinueva, the recent National Nutrition Council survey data shows that malnutrition rate among day care children (0-72 months or below six years old) are going down or improving.

'The HSFP is a short term supplemental feeding program to address malnutrition but it is also an entry point for development as we also encourage the parents of day care children on backyard raising and vegetable planting,' Espinueva stressed.

Under the program, the parents of the day care children themselves prepare the hot meals using as much as possible indigenous but nutritional food and vegetable products which are readily available in the community.

Espinueva said the DSWD also give the parents copy of recommended nutritious recipes provided by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), which could provide one third of the daily nutrients needed by a child.

The DSWD's HSFP is a tie up project with the Department of Health's Garantisadong Pambata (GP) program and with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for backyard raising and farming.