Impact of Strategic and Innovative Implementation of School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) on the Nutritional Status and Academic Performance of Grade 1 Learner-Beneficiaries: An Action Research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65339/ijsis.V1.I1.19Keywords:
Academic Performance, Body Mass Index (BMI), Grade 1 Learner-Beneficiaries, Gulayan sa Paaralan, Nutritional Status, Project Feeding, School-Based Feeding Program, Stakeholder CollaborationAbstract
This study examined the impact of the Strategic and Innovative School-Based Feeding Program through Project FeEDING on the nutritional status and academic performance of severely wasted and underperforming Grade 1 learner-beneficiaries at Dasmariñas Elementary School during School Year 2024-2025. Although no formal theoretical framework was specified, the study used an intervention-based conceptual structure linking learner characteristics, program implementation, and expected nutritional and academic outcomes. Documentary analysis and quantitative methods were employed using the pre- and post-feeding Nutritional Status Reports and the first- and second-quarter general averages recorded in School Form 10 of seventeen (17) Grade 1 learner-beneficiaries. Frequency, percentage, standard deviation, and a t-test for correlated samples were used for data analysis. Results showed that all learners were severely wasted before the intervention, with a mean BMI of 10.535, which increased to 13.582 after implementation. The difference was highly significant (p = 0.0001). Academic performance also increased from a mean general average of 81.65 to 83.76, with a highly significant difference (p = 0.0006), although the study’s conclusion characterized the program’s effect on academic performance as minimal. The study concluded that Project FeEDING substantially improved learners’ nutritional status and recommended intensifying the program through collaboration with Gulayan sa Paaralan, health and nutrition programs, parents, and other stakeholders, together with continuous nutrition and health education and further research. The study supports SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 4 - Quality Education, and SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals. Its sustainability contribution lies in integrating nutrition, education, school health, gardening, parental participation, and stakeholder collaboration to strengthen sustained school- and community-based responses to learner malnutrition and educational needs.
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