DepEd pours record P25.6B into feeding program to rescue 4.6M learners from hunger

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MAKATI CITY, 24 March 2026 — The Department of Education (DepEd) is set to roll out its most ambitious School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) yet, backed by a historic PhP25.6 billion budget for School Year 2026-2027.



To signal the nationwide scale-up, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. together with Education Secretary Sonny Angara recently visited Jose Zurbito Sr. Elementary School in Masbate City to provide nutritious meals to learners.



DepEd, led by Secretary Angara, is also set to bring the program closer to urban communities with an upcoming multi-service school engagement on Wednesday at Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, where feeding activities will take center stage.



The event will also feature a Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair for Senior High School graduates, Gulayan sa Paaralan visit, and a lecture for learners on energy conservation to promote responsible energy use.



The unprecedented funding on school-based feeding— more than double the PhP11.8 billion allocated in 2025— aims to provide a lifeline to a record-breaking 4.63 million learners starting this June.



For the upcoming school year, the SBFP will sustain children for an unprecedented 200 feeding days, a significant leap from the 120-day cycle implemented last year when the program reached 3.39 million students.



Secretary Angara underscored that the program is about more than nutrition but also about restoring the dignity and academic potential of every Filipino child.



“We are fulfilling President Bongbong Marcos’ directive to end the cycle of malnutrition in our schools by giving our learners the health to reach their goals,” Angara said.



Starting School Year 2026-2027, SBFP will target universal feeding of Kindergarten to Grade 1, undernourished Grades 2 to 6, pregnant adolescent learners, and vulnerable and marginalized learners beyond Grade 6.



During the President’s Masbate visit, teachers noted that the consistent meal program has already improved daily attendance and classroom engagement.



Under the Marcos administration, the program has rapidly expanded—from serving 1.67 million students in 2023, to 2.11 million students in 2024, then to 3.39 million students in 2025. Back in 2022, the initiative operated on a PhP3.3 billion that covered only 30 feeding days for 3.48 million learners.



The SBFP’s funding has grown to PhP5.7 billion in 2023 to cover 120 feeding days, and PhP11.7 billion in 2024 to cover 175 feeding days.

By extending feeding to 200 days, the administration is embedding nutrition into the basic education framework, moving beyond short-term relief to guarantee long-term learning readiness.

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