Bungkol Elementary’s School Feeding Program Nourishes 282 Students in the Philippines

on March 5, 2024

With almost 45% of the population facing food insecurity, alleviating hunger in the Philippines is of vital importance. Rise Against Hunger works alongside partners International Care Ministries and Convoy of Hope and global network member Rise Against Hunger Philippines to address this, serving more than 1.73 million people in the country annually.One way Rise Against Hunger addresses this critical issue is by supporting school feeding programs. 29% of children in the Philippines are affected by stunted growth, and school meals — like those served at Bungkol Elementary School — support children’s nutrition and education.

Bungkol Elementary is located a short walk away from Rise Against Hunger Philippines’ Good Food Farm in Magdalena, Laguna. 282 students from kindergarten through grade 6 attend the school. Watch the video below to hear more and keep reading to learn how these children are receiving both an education and critical nourishment to support their futures! All 282 students receive daily nutritious meals, provided by Rise Against Hunger Philippines, and kindergartners receive meals twice a day. The meals are prepared and served by mothers who serve as volunteer cooks — like Josephine.

Josephine Villapando, mother and volunteer cook

With two children attending Bungkol Elementary, Josephine has volunteered as a cook for the past year. She says, “I am proud to cook because I know that it is not just my children. It is not only my children being nourished, but also all the 282 children who we feed here.”She has seen changes in her children, saying, “My child’s weight before was underweight. Then, as they continued eating in the feeding program, I was surprised that his age and his weight are now balanced.” With her children’s nutritional needs supported, she dreams of bright futures for her children. “My hopes for my two children, and to all the students here, is that they graduate from their studies, reach their dreams, so that when they get there, they can succeed more,” she says.

The Rise Against Hunger Philippines meals are just the beginning of how this school supports the children’s nutritional needs. In addition to the school meals, the students receive weekly take-home rations for their families. Bungkol also has a robust garden, which the school was inspired to start after seeing Rise Against Hunger Philippines’ Good Food Farm. The school now grows eggplant, malunggay, cassava, snow cabbage, mustard greens and more.

The garden represents a cost savings for the school, as it no longer needs to purchase vegetables. The cooks add the garden’s vegetables to further enrich the students’ meals. Maria Lourdes, the principal, explains, “The vegetables in the garden like sitaw (string beans), okra, talong or eggplant, the malunggay or the moringa… We use them in our feeding program.”

Maria Lourdes Z. Timbreza, school principal

Maria Lourdes is happy to see how the meals have led to increased attendance and improved academic performance. She says, “Since last year, the pupils have normal weight and it helps a lot that they are… with their attendance. They are regularly going to school because they are so excited with the feeding program.”She continues, “As their mother in the school, I love to see them, that they are healthy, that their dreams will come true.” She is hopeful for the students’ futures, including 10-year-old Leigh Matthew.

Leigh Matthew, student

In grade 6, Leigh Matthew loves school and his favorite subject is English. “I like going to school because I can meet my friends and play games with them and learn.”The school meals support his nutrition and education, which then supports his bright future! A creative child, Leigh Matthew has big dreams, saying, “I want to be an artist… like drawing flowers… Something futuristic or something cute.”

You can support bright futures for children, like those at Bungkol Elementary, around the world! Donate today to provide urgent meals for people facing hunger and help create long-term, locally led solutions to hunger.

Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.