To promote healthy diets and positive eating behaviors and provide healthy eating environment to learners and to its teaching and non-teaching personnel, the Department of Education has issued policy and guidelines on healthy food and beverage choices in schools and in its offices.
This means that no softdrinks, candies, or french fries and only clean water, sugar-free drinks, and food that contain wide range of nutrients will be sold in schools nationwide.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones has issued DepEd Order No. 13, Series of 2017, or the “Policy and Guidelines on Healthy Food and Beverage Choices in Schools and in DepEd Offices” for the “promotion and development of healthy eating habits among the youth and DepEd employees by making available healthy, nutritious, and affordable menu choices, and for setting food standards.”
Briones said that the policy and guidelines aim to “make available healthier food and beverage choices among the learners and DepEd personnel and their stakeholders” as well as to “introduce a system of categorizing locally available foods and drinks in accordance with geographical, cultural, and religious orientations.”
The policy and guidelines, Briones said, also aims to “provide guidance in evaluating and categorizing foods and drinks” and “provide guidance in the selling and marketing of foods and beverages in schools and DepEd offices, including the purchasing of foods for school feeding.” (Ina Hernando Malipot)