Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country, one threat remains for millions of vulnerable Filipino families: malnutrition, also known as the “silent pandemic.” In a recent report by the World Bank, surveys show that in September 2020, seven months into the community quarantine, 31% of families reported experiencing hunger in the past 30 days, with 9% suffering with severe hunger. Both cases were the highest levels recorded in more than 20 years.
As an answer to this growing problem, global food brand, Knorr, recently launched Nutri-Sarap Nutrition Program, an enhanced nutrition program that aims to curve malnutrition and provide Filipinos a better chance at a brighter future.
Under the Nutri-Sarap Nutrition Program, Knorr strengthens its partnership with various government agencies and NGOs—including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network, National Nutrition Council as well as Pilipinas Kontra Gutom—to educate parents on how to prepare healthy, delicious, and abot-kayang home-cooked meals for their families.
The brand believes that the greatest weapon one can use in this battle is knowledge. And through its different partners, it is disseminating information especially to those in impoverished areas where help is needed the most.
But what information are they giving out, specifically? Through its partnership with Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), for the Nutri-Sarap Nutrition Program, Knorr developed a proprietary 21-day Nutrition Plan that empowers parents to build healthy eating habits for their kids and diversify their family’s diet.
In addition to this, the launch of the Nutri-Sarap Nutrition Program also comes with the release of Knorr’s strengthened commitment towards bringing nutrition closer to people through its products. The popular Knorr Sinigang sa Sampaloc Mix Original now contains Vitamin C, while kitchen staple Knorr Chicken & Pork Broth Cubes is now a source of iron. With these developments, Knorr further solidifies its position as a leading force for good nutrition among Filipino families.
“We’re doing everything we can to help secure a brighter future for the Filipinos. In the past, aside from education, we were also able to sustain feeding programs that we are proud to say have really made a huge difference in the lives of beneficiaries. With the pandemic limiting our movements, our search for more ways to make nutrition more accessible led us to implement improvements to our well-loved products,” shares Kristine Go, Vice President for Foods & Refreshments of Unilever Philippines.
A Legacy Built on Purpose
Even before the pandemic, malnutrition has been a prevalent problem among the marginalized sector, with one in every two children below the age of five experiencing undernutrition that leads to stunting. And leading the battle against this problem for over 20 years now is Knorr. The brand—through its Lutong Nanay Program—has been educating moms in community and classroom settings, addressing the two common barriers to proper nutrition—lack of knowledge and limited budget. Aside from teaching moms about proper eating habits and the importance of nutrition not just in one’s present but also their future, Knorr also shared recipes for delicious and nutritious meals that Filipinos are familiar with and cost little to make, including ginisang monggo, tinola, and sinigang.
So far, the brand’s efforts have made a positive impact on the lives of 2.5 million Filipino children who were previously undernourished.
It is a known fact that proper nourishment plays a vital role in achieving one’s dreams. Personalities who attest to this include PBA legend Marc Pingris, multi-awarded educator famous for giving free lessons for underprivileged kids, Teacher Fe, and the first Tigwahanon Manobo medicine graduate, Doc Otit.