Nurturing homes for food security

Every July, the Philippines observes Nutrition Month, shedding light on the critical health gaps and disease challenges that still challenge Filipino households. The National Nutrition Council of the Philippines creates and runs programs to ensure people of all ages eat well and nutritiously. By working with different sectors, the council helps secure safe, healthy, and sustainable food, even during challenges like poor market access and climate change. But what is nutrition without proper access to food, first and foremost?

Access to healthy food is synonymous to household food security, and Nutrition Month looks into addressing food security by promoting self-reliance, ensuring that families have consistent access to healthy, affordable food in each household. 

Vegetable home gardening serves as a practical solution to the call of self-reliance, turning home gardens into reliable sources of fresh, nutrient-dense produce. When families grow their own food at home, they are shielded from high market prices and supply chain disruptions, ensuring consistent access to nutritious food needed to prevent malnutrition and disease.

Ultimately, transitioning from a food consumer to a food producer bridges the gap between nutrition awareness and actual household food security.

In March of 2026, the PPSA visited the local governments of Pililla, Jala-jala, and Tanay in Rizal to train mother-and-child pairs for the two-day Growing Together: Strengthening Food Security through Mother-and-Child Farming Initiative. In collaboration with Harbest Foundation, this initiative brought together partners and experts to equip participants with practical knowledge on nutrition and home gardening. 

PPSA Programs Manager Monica Milano opened the event by emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts in strengthening food security, while Pililla Mayor John V. Masinsin expressed the local government's support for community-based agricultural initiatives. 

Dr. Benigno Beltran, Municipal Health Officer of Jala-jala, and Marivy Soriano of the Local Government of Pililla led separate sessions on the role of vegetable consumption in combating malnutrition. They highlighted the nutritional value of various crops and encouraged families to adopt healthier eating habits through balanced diets. 

Building on these insights, Vanessa Servito and Jessica Dabatos of Harbest Foundation conducted a hands-on lecture on the fundamentals of vegetable gardening, initially guiding participants through essential cultivation practices that can be applied in their own households. 

The learning sessions were further enriched by inspiring testimonies from PPSA Women Farmer Champions Marivic Gaspar and Maureen Blancad, who shared how home gardening and agriculture in general has helped improve their livelihoods.

The second day of the program brought learning beyond the classroom as mothers and their children visited the Harbest Demo Farm in Jala-jala, Rizal. Participants toured the demonstration farm, which also exposed them to various agricultural facilities, including greenhouses, production areas, seedling nurseries, and a vermicomposting site, alongside a guided tour of Harbest’s tissue culture laboratory, before taking part in hands-on planting activities in the fields, where children eagerly learned how to sow and care for vegetables alongside their mothers.

The program concluded with an inspirational message from Harbest Agribusiness Corporation President Arsenio “Toto” Barcelona, who encouraged participants to apply their learnings in building healthier communities.

The interactive experience not only made agricultural concepts more engaging and enjoyable for the young participants but also reinforced the value of growing nutritious food together as a family, fostering lasting appreciation for farming and healthy eating at an early age. More than  just scaling up, this initiative of the PPSA and Harbest Foundation also aims to scale deep: creating long-lasting impact that would change not only the farming habits of the households but also change their familial attitudes towards proper nutrition is just as crucial.

Among the mothers who embraced this vision was Joy, a 32-year-old farmer from Pililla, Rizal, whose story reflected the power of home gardening to nourish both families and futures. 

Having learned farming from her deaf and mute parents, Joy now hopes to pass the same knowledge to her own children—including two who are persons with disabilities.

“Natutunan ko sa magulang ko ang pagtatanim, so ngayon, sumali ako sa programa natin today—mother and child edible gardening—kasi tinuturo ko din naman ang pagtatanim sa mga anak ko [I learned the value of planting from my parents, and today I joined the mother-and-child edible gardening program to pass that same lesson on to my children. For me, planting isn’t just about growing food—it’s about nurturing life, hope, and the bond between generations],” she shared.

For Joy, the training reinforced that agriculture is not simply a livelihood but a pathway to resilience and inclusion.

“PWD sila. Ang nakikita ko lang na paraan para maka-survive sila sa future ay through pagsasaka, kaya importante na mabago ng training ang pananaw nila [My children are persons with disabilities (PWD). I believe that farming can be their way to build a future. That’s why this training matters—it’s not just about skills, but about transforming how they see their own potential],” she said.

Joy's story embodies the very essence of Nutrition Month: that good nutrition begins with reliable access to healthy food, and that food security begins at home. 

By empowering mothers and children to grow their own food, the Growing Together initiative transforms nutrition from an aspiration into a daily reality—cultivating not only vegetables, but healthier families and a new generation that sees agriculture as a source of hope.

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This activity, funded by Corteva Agriscience through GlobalGiving, is part of Growing Together: Strengthening Food Security Through Mother-and-Child Farming Initiatives, implemented by the PPSA and Harbest Foundation Inc., with Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, in partnership with local government units (LGUs) of Pililla, Jalajala and Tanay in Rizal. 

GlobalGiving supports PPSA by serving as its crowdfunding and storytelling platform, helping connect its community-based agriculture and development projects to international donors and partners who can fund and amplify its impact.

Photos of minors found above have been taken with proper parental consent.