HERBAL FOOD. Quezon ALONA partylist Representative Anna Villaraza Suarez (in pink dress), assisted by the women food processing workers, cuts the ribbon and joins the blessing rite for the new food and herbal processing center in Barangay Talipan in Pagbilao, Quezon last June 1. The new food processing facility produces healthy snack food than the common “junk foods” that dominate children's food stuffs. (Photo by Quezon PIO)
PAGBILAO, Quezon – A new food and herbal processing center is now operational in Barangay Talipan in this town in a bid to fight malnutrition and help promote healthy snack food than the common “junk foods” that children consume.
Quezon’s ALONA Partylist Representative Anna Villaraza Suarez led the blessing and inauguration of the new food and herbal processing facility last June 1 in her personal crusade to rid the province of malnutrition among children.
Suarez said she embarked on the construction of facilities that would promote the processing of healthy food options, especially among kids who are “addicted” to “junk food,” which health experts claimed as one of the causes of malnutrition.
She said that the children would be encouraged to eat these healthy food stuffs processed by the new facility, which uses vegetable and natural ingredients in the finished snack food products.
She added that the food processing center also produces mongo food mix and rice chips that have high nutrient contents, to be given free during the feeding and nutrition program for malnourished and undernourished kids.
Suarez also directed Quezon Provincial Agriculturist Roberto “Obet” Gajo to sustain support to the food processing center, especially in the production of different herbal products, to provide livelihood to unemployed constituents in each Quezon town; and offer healthy benefits derived from herbal alternative products for constituents.
She also disclosed that she has supported the construction of more buildings for livelihood projects, especially for the Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI), a women’s group and the women’s sector in the towns of San Andres, San Francisco and Mulanay.
A new building for the ALONA Partylist and a multi-purpose training center would begin construction next month, also in Barangay Talipan, to bring services closer to the people, she said.
She said that the coordinating center building and training facility would serve as conduits in cascading the financial assistance and support services from the private investor and business groups and the national government for various programs and projects intended for the beneficiaries, community associations and civil society organizations at the grassroots. (Gideon Belen/PNA)
