Busog, Lusog, Talino School Feeding Program

According to the United Nations World Food Programme, hunger is a key hindrance to learning especially among school children. To help address this adverse reality, Jollibee Group Foundation embarked on the Busog, Lusog, Talino (BLT) School Feeding Program with the goal of eradicating hunger among Grades 1 and 2 public school pupils.

Since its inception in 2007, the “Busog, Lusog, Talino” (BLT) School Feeding Program has endeavoured to work with communities towards addressing hunger among Grades 1 and 2 public school pupils to help them stay in school and learn better. The program is composed of four (4) key components, namely:

• Daily Lunch: The 40 most undernourished pupils are provided with daily lunch for 120 days.

• Parent Involvement: Parents of BLT pupils are given training in food preparation and budgeting so they can apply this at home.

• Stakeholder Engagement: The implementation of the program is via the support of a local implementing partner. LIP works with teachers, PTA members, school principals, local government health and nutrition workers and other volunteers.

• Employee Volunteerism: The JFC Employee Volunteers conduct Food Safety Seminars for BLT parents and monitor the BLT implementation.

Program Impact

Through the years, the BLT Program has demonstrated that it is possible to employ a management system in doing school feeding that leads to:

•  Significant results:  80% of pupils gain Normal Body Mass Index (BMI) level after the feeding cycle and maintain their normal weight beyond the feeding cycle. Results likewise show improvement in attendance and academic performance among BLT pupils.
•  Sustainability:  BLT becomes a permanent 120-day feeding activity through community ownership as manifested by the cash and in-kind support from local government units, individuals and organizations.
•  Scaling-up:   BLT’s simple, affordable and measurable model allows for easy replication and scaling-up in more areas. From the initial eight (8) pilot schools in 2007, BLT’s current coverage is over 1,500 schools and has fed more than 142,000 pupils nationwide.

Community Ownership Takes Root

Community ownership is a component of BLT that makes the program sustainable. Program partners from the different sites assume the management of the program and find their own resources especially after the three-year partnership with JGF. For example, in 2013, through the determination of the different local implementing partners, the city government of Davao has signed a Memorandum of Agreement indicating P5.7 millionworth of rice as a support to the Busog, Lusog, Talino (BLT) School Feeding Program. . This grant is equivalent to the continuous implementation of the program in 142 public schools in Davao for the next five (5) years.

Public donation continues to pour in to BLT through the Jollibee Foundation coin banks placed in all JFC stores nationwide. In the US, Jollibee and Red Ribbon stores in the states of California, Nevada, and New York continued their coinbank collection from customers. This fundraising is in partnership with the Philippine Development Foundation (formerly Ayala Foundation USA).