BACKGROUND:

Quezon City is located in the northeast district of Metro Manila and was officially
established as an urban center in 1939. The city has approximately one-quarter of Metro
Manila’s population in which also has the largest populations of urban poor. Quezon City houses
the Philippines’ government centre, as well as approximately one-quarter of Metro Manila’s
population in which also has the largest populations of urban poor. From the period 2000–2010,
the City registered an annual population growth rate of 2.42 percent, surpassing the national
growth rate of 2.04 percent. Today, Quezon City’s population stands at 2.93 million, which is
expected to increase to 3.29 million by the year 2025.
Being the most populous city in the Philippines, stands at the forefront of urban food
systems action. the city has made significant strides to establish integrated initiatives that address
complex urban development issues such as social housing, air quality, and more recently, food to
achieve more sustainable development. Some of these achievements have been made possible
through local and international support networks. Yet, the pace and scale of urban growth
continue to present challenges for achieving an equitable and sustainable food system in Quezon
City.
Lack of basic services, settlements in at-risk areas, and climate related shocks to the food
supply chain are just some of the contributing factors to an increasingly food insecure
population. An estimated 20 percent of the city’s households are moderately food insecure, while
15 percent suffer from severe food insecurity. For the city’s nearly 1.1 million children (2015),
the pace of urbanization brings new barriers to realizing their rights.
Undernutrition—particularly underweight, stunting, and wasting—lingers among the
city’s children, with a 29.9 percent prevalence in stunting among pre-school children,
particularly in poorer households, followed by underweight (17.4 percent) and wasting (6.7
percent). At the same time, overweight and obesity have emerged as a growing concern,
affecting 19.9 percent of school age children and 15 percent of adolescents, and surpassing the
national average of 11.6 percent for both age groups. This evidence of the triple burden of
malnutrition— the coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition—
in the city casts a spotlight on the urgency to shape better food environments. While nutritious
foods are available in Quezon City, affordability and food knowledge and skills are considered
major barriers for uptake in households. In early 2020, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic set
additional pressures on the city, particularly in respect to the urban food system: lockdown
measures restricted people’s access to food, and at a wider scale, disrupted the influx of food
products from outside the urban area.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic set additional pressures on the city,
particularly in respect to the urban food system: lockdown measures restricted people’s access to
food, and at a wider scale, disrupted the influx of food products from outside the urban area. This
became a triple burden of malnutrition— the coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient
deficiencies, and overnutrition—in the city casts a spotlight on the urgency to shape better food
environments. While nutritious foods are available in Quezon City, affordability and food
knowledge and skills are considered major barriers for uptake in households.
As the Quezon City Government envisions itself to be a model for effective governance
and leadership, working together with its constituents to build a quality community it has taken
multiple efforts to improve its urban food system but as the health crisis challenged the city’s
urban food system, such initiatives to wade the problem declines. Yet, the pace and scale of
urban growth continue to present challenges for achieving an equitable and sustainable food
system in Quezon City.

STRENGHTS:
The Quezon City Health Department are the one who conquers issues related to the
overall health and well-being of the citizens of Quezon City and even before the pandemic the
Quezon is known for displaying great actions in addressing the current health issues of their
community.
In the year 2016 the Public Health sector of Quezon City headed by Quezon City Health
Officer Dr. Verdades Pena-Linga and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition
(MNCHN) Coordinator Dr. Ramona Asuncion DG. Abarquez with UNILAB Project Coordinator
Ms. Vidallon launched the Batang 1000 project where it focuses on the first 1000 days of child
where this project ensure that a child will receive the best and appropriate health and childcare
until the age of two in order to avoid malnutrition where the child can grow productive and
intelligent, this project guarantees a hundred percent success in producing healthy children which
can provide their city a better future.
The Quezon City Health Department's Nutrition Section is critical in raising public
awareness about the need for nutritional health care for everyone. This provides a collection of
activities that will teach appropriate nutrition information to help the community achieve and
maintain a healthy lifestyle. Establishing appropriate nutrition early in childhood is critical for
human growth and mental development, as well as reducing the chance of malnutrition.
The Nutrition Program is one of the QCHD's essential health packages, which includes a
variety of health services for Quezon City residents. Prioritizing vulnerable groups, such as
preschool children aged 0-5 years, pregnant and nursing mothers, the elderly, and those with
disabilities. This includes the following: Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus, Growth Monitoring
Program, Food Assistance, Deworming, Micronutrient Supplementation, Nutrition Education &
Information Campaigns, Food Fortification and Diet counseling.
As for their objectives, to promote, maintain and protect the health and nutritional well-
being of the people of Quezon City through the delivery of preventive nutritional health care to
the constituents. To achieve a state of health that will improve children's active learning
capacities for the next generation and enable them to operate more effectively, allowing them to
fulfill their quality-of-life goals.
 In the 14-point agenda of the Quezon City Government, Mayor Joy Belmonte wanted to
provide a better health system to the citizen and community of Quezon city that is why she
includes providing a better health care as one of the focuses of the 14-point agenda. Providing
accessible health services and population health improvements is one of the City’s goals in order
for its people to have a better quality of life despite of the pandemic.
The Government of Quezon City wanted to provide continuous health support by
increasing its budget in the health sector with the intention of increasing the number of its
beneficiaries, in the year 2020 there are 1,231 increases of beneficiaries.
The Quezon City Government also collaborated with the private companies and non-
governmental organization such as Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Manila
Water Foundation and The humanitarian group, Tzu Chi where they have gained financial and
educational support in handling the current spread of the virus, with the help of this Private
sectors and Ngo’s the Government of Quezon has administered 5 million doses of Covid vaccine
where they also have established four hybrid facilities which is specifically made to address the
current situation and condition of the local government.
The city government expanded medical services and equipment at its various healthcare
facilities, including six dialysis machines for COVID-19 patients at the Quezon City General
Hospital, a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan, Respiratory and Heart Station with treadmill
machine stations at the Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital (RMBGH), and
Telemedicine at the Novaliches District Hospital. Service innovation is critical to providing
innovative ways to rapidly increase high-quality health care services. High-quality health
services provide the appropriate care at the right time, responding to the needs and preferences of
service consumers while reducing harm and resource waste. Additionally, quality health care is
compatible with seven measurable characteristics: effectiveness, safety, people-centeredness,
timeliness, equity, integration of care, and efficiency, and it increases the chance of desired
health outcomes.
“Health for all, Health in the hands of the people.” The Quezon City province aims to
give the citizens a better quality of life by giving them accessible healthcare and health benefits.
They utilize and make good use of the support coming from the private companies and non-
governmental organization to fully developed and enhance the health system of their city.
Despite of facing many challenges in this time of pandemic the Quezon City seeks to provide the
best and accurate health support to its citizen.

NOTABLE PROGRAMS:
Healthy Public Food Procurement Policy

 Quezon City became the country's first Local Government Unit (LGU) to implement a
healthy food procurement policy. All offices, departments, institutions, and task forces of
the Quezon City government are required by this executive order no. 16, series-2021 to
 ensure that all food and food supplies are procured by the city government for its local
departments, projects, and programs follow the law with the QC Nutrition Standards.

 This program aims to promote citizens' health and nutrition while also ensuring that
public food is nutritious and sustainable. The government will establish nutrition
standards for procured food as part of this program's implementation.

Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad sa Pagkain, Kabuhayan, at Kalusugan Program

 This program began in April 2020 amid the pandemic, and it is the recovery plan to
ensure food security, particularly during this period of the pandemic.

 This program aims to provide citizens with a reliable source of nutritious and healthy
food and to improve food security by developing better food systems. Quezon City
continues to support its citizens' health and nutrition in the fight against COVID-19.

GrowQC Nutritious Feeding Program

 The Quezon City Local Government Unit established 295 feeding stations in daycare
centers to serve nutritious meals to vulnerable families during the pandemic. This
program helps residents have healthy meals made with locally produced vegetables.

 Aside from the feeding stations, a mobile kitchen is also going around Quezon City to
deliver nutritious meals to residents. This program is part of the local government's food
security action plan, which aims to eradicate hunger and provide food security.

The Joy of Urban Farming

 The Joy of Urban Farming was started to reduce hunger in Quezon City by encouraging
residents to produce and grow nutritious vegetables that they can eat. The Local
Government Unit aims to convince people to grow their food using organic methods and
to produce nutritious and healthy vegetable seedlings.

 This program is a huge help for the Quezon City residents since it will provide them with
an alternative source of food. The program also aims to help students have a better
understanding of health and nutrition, as well as to encourage them to avoid eating
unhealthy foods and products with chemicals derived from pesticides.

Anti-Junk Food and Sugary Drinks Ordinance

 The City of Quezon City has proposed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of junk food and
sugary drinks at all of the city's schools. On June 22, 2018, the Anti-Junk Food and
 Sugary Drinks Ordinance No. 2579, S2017, was signed into law, including its
implementing rules and regulations.

 The rule forbids the sale and promotion of junk food and sugary drinks in the city's public
and private preparatory, primary, and secondary schools. The ban also applies within one
hundred (100) meters of the school's outside border. Department of Education Order No.
13 Series of 2017 enacted the legislation, which encourages students and DepEd
employees to choose healthy food and beverage choices.

 The Kagawad for Health distributed the ordinance to all barangays, as well as principals
of public elementary and high schools, representatives from private schools, and daycare
employees.

Food Security Task Force (QC-FSTF)

 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Quezon City Food Security Task Force (QC
FSTF) was established by Executive Order 32 series of 2020, signed in May 2020, as part
of the city's economic recovery plan. It promotes urban agriculture, the creation of farm
zones and food zones, and the overall improvement of food systems.

 The task force is a cross-departmental effort with projects focusing on food and input
production (urban agriculture), food trading and processing, and more (food systems).
Among other things, seed starter kits are being provided, urban community farms and
vegetable nurseries are being improved, food processing zones are being developed, and
a communal soup kitchen is being established. The city's efforts are also supported by the
Department of Agriculture, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the city
in April 2020.

Farmer to Consumer Program

 The Farmer to Consumer Program (F2C) aims to better connect producers and
communities by establishing new marketing platforms. Farmers from Nueva Vizcaya
travel to Quezon City twice a month to offer rice, fruits, vegetables, and homemade
goods at City Hall's pop-up market. The goal is to empower local producers by giving
them direct access to urban markets.

 This program has a significant impact on health and nutrition; it can provide food supply
for those who are in serious need of assistance due to malnutrition. Agriculture and
nutrition share a common goal of sustaining foods; without agriculture, there would be no
food or nutrition to provide for consumers. This is why farmer and consumer programs
are important in ensuring that people have access to healthy foods and proper nutrition, as
well as ending malnutrition in today's society.
The Sustainable Diner Project

 This project uses the food service industry to promote sustainable consumption and
production while also providing tips and guides to the public on how to support
sustainably produced food.

 This project intends to strengthen food safety measures and give strategic planning to
food service establishments, as well as to help city residents better understand how their
food consumption choices affect the local food system. The Sustainable Diner Project
will help the residents in providing healthier food options.

 The food service industry can be a good place to start when it comes to supporting a
change toward more sustainable and healthier consumption habits that help to reduce
food waste and hunger. The Sustainable Diner Project also considers the nutritional
composition of foods within the scope of sustainable foods.