(Eagle News)–The Department of Social Welfare and Development clarified on Saturday, Sept. 30, that the food credits beneficiaries receive under the Food Stamp Program should merely complement their income.

Under the FSP launched by the World Food Programme of the United Nations in Siargao Island beneficiaries receive P3,000 worth of food credits loaded to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards.

The EBT cards can then be used to purchase food products in all DSWD-accredited merchants and in  participating stalls of the “Kadiwa ng Pangulo,” among others.

According to the government, the food credits are loaded to the cards monthly.

“Kung ano rin mayroon na po sila … we just like to stress that, ito po ay karagdagan lamang po doon sa resources ng ating mga beneficiaries,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said.

The DSWD official also said that they want to assess the impact of the FSP in areas where a significant number of “food-poor” families are recorded due to disaster.

“Ang tinitignan po natin diyan ‘no hindi lang po sufficient supply of food, but we’re also looking at the adequate quality of food that they will be consuming, hindi lamang po pagsagot sa pangangailangan ng pagkain,” she said.

She said the target one million FSP beneficiaries  will thus be required to participate in “nutrition education activities” to ensure that they have enough knowledge on how to properly and adequately provide nutritious foods for themselves and their family members.

For this, she added the DSWD was  working closely with the National Nutrition Council (NNC).

“Dapat tinitiyak natin na nutritious ‘yon pong kanilang kino-consume na mga pagkain. Dahil ang gusto po natin hindi lamang pag-address noong kagutuman, but we also wanted to ensure that our beneficiaries are healthy and are strong so that they could be part of the labor economy,” she said.