ABSTRACT
This chapter will examine how the successful evidence-based integrated school nutrition model (ISNM), featuring bio-intensive gardens, supplementary feeding using iron-fortified rice and indigenous vegetables from school gardens, and nutrition education, has been systematically expanded from one province (Cavite) to an entire region comprising 5 provinces of the Philippines. Fifty-eight lighthouse schools (LSs), which serve as focal points for research, learning and scaling, are now influencing at varying levels, 2,732 public elementary schools benefitting a total student population of 1,839,445. Through capacity building and multi-stakeholder engagement and partnerships, the ISNM is now being scaled up in schools across the nation, via institutionalization and increased investments by the government and private sector. The Department of Education (DepEd), recognizing the value of the model, pursued a capacity-building programme to establish 221 LSs all over the Philippines. Investments and adoption of the model from other agencies like the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the National Nutrition Council of the Department of Health will be demonstrated.
