LEA MANTO-BELTRAN, SENIOR STAFF WRITER
ralph Geronimo of Mondelez Philippines’ logistics department
THE Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has come up with a visual tool called Pinggang Pinoy. This is a guide on how much one should eat every meal, it aims to teach Filipinos about proper food consumption for them to be healthy.
In response to this campaign, Mondelez Philippines (formerly Kraft Foods) held its annual Share Joy Day. For this year, gradeschool children are taught how to prepare healthy snacks.
On October 21, Mondelez employees volunteered to join the activity held simultaneously in five adopted elementary schools.
Leading the volunteers was Ralph Geronimo, of Mondelez Philippines’ logistics department, who went to General Vicente Lim Elementary School in Tondo along with his co-employees.
More employees join ‘Share Joy day’
A third-time-volunteer, he recalled his previous experience at the same school: “I was happy to see my colleagues set aside time to build vertical gardens in General Vicente Lim Elementary School two years ago. It felt good to know that I was able to influence other people towards something positive.”
For this year’s activity, Ralph enjoyed preparing snacks with a new set of school children. He shared, “Being a volunteer leader definitely made me better at influencing other people. It also reminded me that every time I do something, I do it with a positive and impactful purpose.”
Some of the snacks Mondelez taught on preparing included spaghetti, taco, sandwiches among others.
The activity is part of the Joy Schools program, which is Mondelez’s community partnership with five more public elementary schools besides the Vicente Lim Elementary School in Manila. These other adopted schools are Sampaloc Site II Elementary School in Parañaque City, Bayanan Main Elementary School in Muntinlupa City, Padre Zamora Elementary School in Pasay, P. Manalo Elementary School in Pateros, and lastly, Panalaron Central Elementary School in Tacloban.
The Grade 3 students of vicente lim elementary School with their healthy snacks
As partners, the schools benefit from programs for nutrition of students, trainings of teachers, and improvement of facilities—all aimed at creating “joyful” learning environments.
Moreover, Mondelez believes that these interventions are sustainable. For example, with feeding programs, they not only teach children to fight present hunger but also fight it for good through the quality education they receive today.
For more information on Mondelez Philippines’ Joy Schools program, visit ph.mondelezinternational.com/well-being.