DepEd to schools: Plant malunggay
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:36:00 05/07/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Education has instructed elementary and secondary schools nationwide to plant malunggay trees on school premises and communities, in a bid to address malnutrition and undernourishment among school children.
In Memorandum Order No. 234, DepEd said malunggay (moringa) planting will be integrated in science classes and school community outreach projects.
The order also enjoins bureau directors, regional directors and provincial and city superintendents to fully support the initiative, the DepEd said in a statement.
At the start of every school year, the DepEd said an estimated 2.5 million school children come to school undernourished. It added that it wants to lower the number by at least five to seven percent through feeding interventions.
According to DepEd Health and Nutrition Center Director Thelma Santos, malunggay is the answer to this problem.
"We have created awareness that the lowly malunggay could save us from malnutrition and even hunger," she said.
The Department of Agriculture’s Biotechnology Program Office has long been advocating malunggay as a "power gulay" as studies have shown it to be one of the most nutritious and useful plants in the world.
While perhaps less palatable, malunggay is said to be seven times richer in Vitamin C than oranges, four times richer in calcium and two times richer in protein than milk, four times richer in Vitamin A than carrots and three times richer in potassium than bananas.
For this project with the DepEd, the DA, through its Bureau of Plant Industry, will provide seeds, seedlings and stem cuttings to the schools, as well as technical assistance in terms of plant propagation and processing of malunggay leaves and fruits for food.
Santos said that this school year, the DepEd will publish a malunggay recipe book, which will be made available to teachers, school canteen managers and members of the Parents' and Teachers' Classroom Associations.
Forty malunggay recipes ranging from snacks -- such as polvoron, fishballs, buchi-buchi and lumpia -- to sumptuous dishes such as malunggay con caldo, mal-pinakbet and malulai or malunggay laing can be found in the book.
The same book will educate teachers and parents on how to prepare malunggay shakes and juices.
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