The Davao City Health Office is calling on residents to strengthen food security by growing vegetables at home, reducing food waste, and adopting healthy eating habits as part of Nutrition Month observance. Elizabeth B. Banzon, registered nurse and head of the City Health Office's Nutrition Division, stressed that good nutrition requires collective effort from families, schools, barangays, farmers, and other sectors.
Nutrition Month Theme Emphasizes Shared Responsibility
Banzon explained that this year's campaign highlights collaborative responsibility to ensure every household has access to safe and nutritious food while promoting sustainable practices. She urged households, schools, and barangays to establish vegetable gardens to improve food availability, especially during emergencies and natural disasters that may disrupt supply.
"The theme of Nutrition Month promotes collaborative responsibility because this is a multi-sectoral effort. We need to help one another to achieve food security. We encourage households, barangays, and schools to establish vegetable gardens so there will always be food available," Banzon said during the ISpeak Media Forum on July 2, 2026, at the City Mayor's Office.
Practical Tips for Home Gardening and Meal Planning
Banzon advised the public to plan meals carefully to avoid waste and choose affordable but nutritious options. She recommended reusing household materials for gardening: "Plan your meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so resources will not be wasted. Spend wisely on affordable but nutritious food. Sacks, gallons, mineral water bottles, and old tires can be reused as planting containers by filling them with soil and seeds."
Focus on Maternal and Child Nutrition
Banzon encouraged mothers, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, to prioritize exclusive breastfeeding during a child's first 1,000 days, describing breast milk as the best source of nutrition for infants from birth to six months.
Reactivating Nutrition Committees in All Barangays
The city is working to reactivate nutrition committees in all 182 barangays to strengthen nutrition programs, prevent malnutrition, and help barangays develop their own nutrition action plans. Senior citizens are also encouraged to participate in gardening activities to support healthy aging and local food production.
Following National Nutrition Guidelines
Banzon reminded the public to follow the country's 10 nutrition guidelines, which include eating a variety of nutritious foods, consuming vegetables and fruits daily, choosing protein-rich foods, drinking safe water, using iodized salt, limiting salty, fatty, and sugary foods, and staying physically active.
"Good nutrition leads to good health," Banzon said, urging Dabawenyos to work together in building healthier families and more food-secure communities.
