DSWD forges 'food banking' pact with Japanese firm

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is partnering with a Japanese firm to engage in food banking – distributing mostly donated food to the needy - in the Philippines. Acting DSWD Secretary Alicia Bala and Second Harvest-Japan (2HJ) chief executive officer Charles McJilton signed a memorandum of understanding for the food banking arrangement in Quezon City. “Under the MOU, the 2HJ shall ship food items from Japan to the Philippines for the use of poor Filipinos. It shall also ensure the safety, nutritional quality and compliance with the sanitary standards of the food donations from Japan by securing and submitting to the DSWD the required certifications from appropriate agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," the DSWD said in a news release. The distribution of the food will be held in October 2011, in time for the National Children’s Month celebration. Food banking is an alternative to throwing away and wasting food products safe for human consumption but cannot be sold for one reason or another. It works by acquiring donated food, much of which would otherwise be wasted, and making it available to people who are hungry through a network of agencies. The setup is also a boon for food manufacturers and importers who face problems of having food that must be disposed of. Under the MOU, the 2HJ will strictly comply with the requirement that all food items to be brought to the Philippines should have an expiration date of at least one year. The DSWD said the initial donation of 2HJ will consist of 75 metric tons of rice and soy meal from Japan. For its part, the DSWD shall secure the necessary duty-free and other tax exemptions allowable for the entry of the food donations of 2HJ, as well as the efficient and effective distribution of the food items to the beneficiaries. Bala said this undertaking should have a substantial impact on poor Filipino children and their families, especially in conflict affected areas in Mindanao. — ELR, GMA News