CATBALOGAN CITY — The Provincial Government of Samar unveiled the Tutok at Aksyon sa Nutrisyon (TAN) Kitchen on February 25, 2024, at the Tandaya Hall, Catbalogan City, in response to the province’s malnutrition problem.
The TAN Kitchen is a multifaceted program focusing on Preventive, Curative, and Rehabilitative aspects to address various needs in combating malnutrition.
In the Preventive Aspect, the program will educate children and the community on health and nutrition, healthy meal planning, weight and height monitoring, and home and community food gardening.
The Curative aspect will provide Supplemental Feeding to malnourished children, In-patient Therapeutic Care (ITC), Out-patient Therapeutic Care (OTC), and a strengthened referral system from the Rural Health Units (RHUs) to hospitals.
For the Rehabilitative aspect, activities such as Training on Demo Cooking and Meal Planning, Training on Storytelling, Identification of Malnourished Children, and a Policy on Nutrition will be conducted.
The provincial government will collaborate with various stakeholders, including local government units, the Department of Health (DOH), National Nutrition Council (NNC), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Junior Chamber International (JCI) Balud, Inc., Balud, and the Provincial, City, and Municipal Nutrtion Action Officers, to conduct capacity building activities.
The TAN Kitchen Nutri-van will travel around the province with the program’s mascot, Super G, to provide interactive and fun learning sessions to children through storytelling, cooking demonstrations, and provision of hot meals, among others.
The Super G strategy targets children below 5 years old, using play therapy to help them understand nutrition creatively.
The province aims to involve parents and the community, emphasizing their role in practicing proper nutrition and achieving behavioral change.
The TAN Kitchen is a continuation of the province’s Tatak Tangkad Program launched in 2021, which adopted the First 1000 Days Program of the government aimed at reducing child malnutrition, particularly stunting.
In 2023, DOH and NNC reported a total of 21,565 Samarnon children below 5 years old as malnourished, with 10,403 stunted, 1,250 wasted, 7,561 underweight, and 2,351 overweight. While there has been an overall decreasing trend in malnutrition status in the past five years, the provincial government recognizes the need to eliminate the social injustice of malnutrition, hence, the TAN Kitchen Program. (With reports from Samar Public information Office)
