05/07/2025
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๐๐๐๐๐๐โโ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฒ๐๐งโฆโ
๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐. ๐๐โ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐, ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ, ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ซ. ๐๐ก๐๐ง, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ, โ๐๐บ๐ข๐ธ ๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ข,โ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ: ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐:
โโ๐ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ณ๐ช๐บ๐ข๐ฏโฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ!โ
Nine times out of ten, you probably rolled your eyes (behind their backs, of course), recoiled with a quiet โ๐๐ถ๐ฉ,โ or reluctantly went back to eating, forcing each bite down as tears welled up in your eyes while you tried not to gag. Maybe you even pinched your nose to avoid inhaling the scent of that dreaded meal. Maybe youโve even asked yourself: What does this have to do with me? Youโd rather swallow your pride than that mushy squash.
As kids, it was easy to dismiss those words as just another irksome way for adults to scold us into finishing our meals. Classic guilt-tripping, right? But growing up, I began to see what they really meant. Those โ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐จ๐ขโ bata werenโt just characters in our parentsโ lectures.
Theyโre also in our classrooms.
There are children and adolescentsโstudents like you and meโright in our communities who go to school with empty stomachs, who watch their classmates eat while quietly holding back their hunger, letting it pass.
And they are reminders of how lucky we are to have food on our plates.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
Itโs easy to forget, in between all our school projects, crushes, deadlines, and responsibilities, that not everyone enjoys the comfort of a packed lunch or a warm meal waiting for them at home. But when we look closer, that hunger is much nearer to us than we think.
According to a 2024 study published in ๐๐ค๐ต๐ข ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข, undernutrition remains a significant public health concern in the Philippines. Nearly 1 in 5 Filipino kids under five are underweightโworse in rural areas, and even worse among the poorest families.
Whatโs worse is the vicious cycle: poor education leads to poor food choices, which deepens poverty and hunger, resulting in โ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐จ-๐ข๐ธ๐ขโ gradesโand so the cycle repeats. Which leads us to a crucial question:
How can a hungry child be expected to focus, let alone excel?
Undernutrition isnโt just about missed meals; especially for children and adolescents, it affects cognitive performance, lowers academic achievement, and in the long term, traps families in poverty.
Itโs no wonder the Philippines ranked 77th out of 81 countries in a recent Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessment of 15-year-old students, revealing how hunger itself keeps many Filipino students from reaching their potential.
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Knowing all this leaves another question: How can we do our part?
The answer doesnโt have to mean working ourselves to the bone. We arenโt expected to hand out money like it grows on trees, nor give away all the nutrition meant for us alone.
It starts with small things that can make a big impactโlike finishing the food on our plates and remembering that every meal is a gift not everyone has. Choosing not to waste is a simple yet meaningful step toward change.
We can also share what we can spare: inviting a classmate to join us for lunch, offering part of our ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฏ to someone who has none, or supporting school and community feeding programs.
Even starting conversations about hunger with our families and friends helps others recognize the importance of proper nutrition for everyone.
Most importantly, letโs carry this mindset beyond Nutrition Month. By recognizing how fortunate many of us are, we can do our part to help make sure everyone has enough to eat.
๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ
So, the next time you hear someone say, โ๐ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ณ๐ช๐บ๐ข๐ฏโฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ!โ maybe donโt just roll your eyes or brush it off like we used to. Itโs not just a line adults throw around to make us feel guilty. Itโs a reminder for all of usโone that asks us to look beyond our own plates and see those who have nothing on theirs.
While weโre lucky enough to have food in front of us, many others donโt. And that means we all have a part to play. A part in that change.
Because through to the theme of the ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐งโ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข-๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ตโwe can work together for a future where no child has to sit through class on an empty stomach, and where every child still gets hungry, but now for knowledge, to grow, and to dream with a full heart and a full belly.
โ๏ธ: Jaeda Sto. Domingo
๐จ: Gretel Balerite
