An initial 30,000 food-poor families from Negros Occidental will be recipients of the government’s Walang Gutom 2027: Food Provision through Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program (Food STAMP) that will be implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) starting July.

“This is a scale-up program because the pilot implementation is already completed. So, the initial implementation is 30,000 in Negros Occidental,” said DSWD-Western Visayas Regional Director lawyer Carmelo Nochete during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on Tuesday, June 11.

Nochete said the DSWD central office chose Negros Occidental because Listahanan data showed poverty is prevalent in the province.

He said they have already hired additional staff, and validation is ongoing to identify those who will be enrolled in the program.

Nochete said those who qualify for the program will receive an electronic benefit card that will be loaded with P3,000 a month, which they can use in accredited retailers and grocery stores to purchase food.

He said recipient families have to plan out their diet since there is a percentage requirement in terms of the nutritional value of the food they will purchase.

“Probably after one year, it will be scaled up and implemented in other provinces in Western Visayas,” he added. (PNA)