More Than Feeding:

Community-Led Nutrition
in Siargao Island, Philippines

In Siargao Island, Philippines, the Asia Lunchbox Fund is a community-based nutrition program that goes beyond daily meals. It helps children grow healthier, stay in school, and build lasting habits with families and local partners.

Built with local schools, parents, health partners, and community leaders, the program combines nutritious meals, practical workshops, and locally led solutions such as community kitchens and gardens.
This is our approach in Siargao: internationally supported, locally carried, and community-built from the start.

Program Reach in Siargao Island

Meals Distributed
0

Nutritious school meals served through our Nepal program.

Students Reached
0

Children supported through improved access to nutrition and school-based support.

Schools Engaged
0

Local schools partnering with us to deliver and strengthen the program.

Schools Engaged
Students Reached
Meals Distributed
Mother
Workshop

How It Works:

The Philippines nutrition program is designed as a community journey, not a one-time intervention. The program plan outlines three connected phases: serving lunch, capability-building for parents and students, and a sustainability phase built around a community garden and kitchen. This structure is reflected in the project roadmap for San Mateo and Abad Santos Elementary Schools.

Methodology in Action

Built With the Community, Designed for the Whole Child

In Siargao, this program is shaped by the people closest to it. Families, schools, local partners, and community leaders are part of how the model is built, strengthened, and sustained…

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The Cookbook in Action:
Local Knowledge on the Table

A Cookbook Rooted in Siargao, Written by Nanays

The cookbook is not an extra material added onto the program. It is one of the clearest expressions of how the Philippines model works.

Gana sa Isla Cookbook was prepared by mothers from Brgy. San Mateo Elementary School and Abad Santos Elementary School in Siargao Island…

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Read The Cookbook

What Lasting Impact Looks Like

From 2023 to January 2026, children’s weight-related nutrition improved, with more classified as normal and declines in obesity, overweight, and wasting. 

Children’s nutritional progress is tracked over time through baseline, midline, and endline comparisons.

Since the nutrition program was introduced in 2023, attendance increased in the first year and has remained consistently high in the succeeding periods.

Attendance is monitored as a direct indicator of children’s ability to stay engaged in school.

Attendance has steadily increased over time, supported by strong school–community collaboration and consistent monitoring of students’ nutritional status. These combined efforts contribute to the promotion of healthier lifestyles within the home.

Monthly workshops help track family engagement, knowledge-building, and household-level change.

Local Voices, Shared Impact

The strongest reflection of the program’s value comes from the people who experience it directly.
Partner Voice-Voice
Partner Voice2-Voice
School Voice-PH
Student Voice-Voice

Partner With Us

The Asia Lunchbox Fund in the Philippines is internationally supported and locally led in Siargao. We welcome donors who want to invest in a practical, community-based model of sustainable change.

By partnering with us, you can help:

Help local communities build a more sustainable nutrition model

Strengthen community kitchens and kitchen gardens

Support parents with practical nutrition knowledge

Provide nutritious meals to children who need them most

Program Reach
How It Works
The Cookbook
Methodology
Impact
Local Voices
Partner With Us

Interested in partnering with us?

Contact us at philippines@callsoverridges.org to explore funding, collaboration, or strategic partnership opportunities.

Methodology in Action:​

Built With the Community, Designed for the Whole Child

In Siargao, this program is shaped by the people closest to it. Families, schools, local partners, and community leaders are part of how the model is built, strengthened, and sustained. This approach helps children and caregivers build healthier habits together, while strengthening local ownership over time.

Community at the Center

  • ● Parents are trained to cook, lead, and support the community kitchen.
  • ● Teachers help monitor attendance and support delivery.
  • ● Barangay leaders and local partners are engaged for long-term sustainability.

Workshops That Fit Real Life

  • ● Practical and locally relevant, not one-size-fits-all.
  • ● Covers nutrition, hygiene, mental health, parenting, and child well-being.
  • ● Uses simple storytelling, reflection, and reminders to make learning easier to carry into daily life.

“In crafting the roadmap for the Nutrition Program, the goal is to ensure it is community-centered, with interventions co-created and guided by the local context. Beyond providing meals for students, the program seeks to instill the value of healthy practices within the home, thereby influencing the broader community. Ultimately, this is how I see long-lasting impact.”

-Wyn Marie C. Gallo, Program Coordinator

Methodology in Action:​

Built With the Community, Designed for the Whole Child

In Siargao, this program is shaped by the people closest to it. Families, schools, local partners, and community leaders are part of how the model is built, strengthened, and sustained. This approach helps children and caregivers build healthier habits together, while strengthening local ownership over time.

Community at the Center

  • ● Parents are trained to cook, lead, and support the community kitchen.
  • ● Teachers help monitor attendance and support delivery.
  • ● Barangay leaders and local partners are engaged for long-term sustainability.

Workshops That Fit Real Life

  • ● Practical and locally relevant, not one-size-fits-all.
  • ● Covers nutrition, hygiene, mental health, parenting, and child well-being.
  • ● Uses simple storytelling, reflection, and reminders to make learning easier to carry into daily life.

“In crafting the roadmap for the Nutrition Program, the goal is to ensure it is community-centered, with interventions co-created and guided by the local context. Beyond providing meals for students, the program seeks to instill the value of healthy practices within the home, thereby influencing the broader community. Ultimately, this is how I see long-lasting impact.”

-Wyn Marie C. Gallo, Program Coordinator

The Cookbook in Action: Local Knowledge on the Table

The Cookbook in Action:
Local Knowledge on the Table

A Cookbook Rooted in Siargao, Written by Nanays

The cookbook is not an extra material added onto the program. It is one of the clearest expressions of how the Philippines model works.

Gana sa Isla Cookbook was prepared by mothers from Brgy. San Mateo Elementary School and Abad Santos Elementary School in Siargao Island. It brings together local knowledge, everyday cooking practice, and nutrition guidance in a format that families can actually use. The book itself describes this as a return to the home table — where mothers cook, serve, and share care through food — and presents cooking not only as a task, but as an act of care and connection. It is also written in a simple, accessible format, using local language alongside English, so it can be used within the community and appreciated beyond it.

What makes the cookbook especially meaningful is how practical and local it is. It shows families that nutritious meals do not need to begin with expensive or imported ingredients. They can begin with what is already available in Siargao. The cookbook includes a local ingredient guide, Tiangge de Siargao, which lists commonly used ingredients and prices, helping families think about nutrition in a way that is realistic and affordable.

It also goes beyond recipes. The cookbook includes reminders on healthy cooking and eating, encourages families to support local vegetables and fruits, use natural seasonings, prepare a variety of dishes, monitor family health, and join community gardens. In this way, it functions not only as a recipe book, but as a practical tool for behavior change.

The recipes themselves reflect the program’s local and nutrition-conscious approach. Dishes such as Chicken & Sotanghon Soup, Ginata-ang na Monggos, Ginisang Talbos ng Kamote, Kinilaw na Puso ng Saging sa Gata, Mixed Vegetables Fillet, and Sarsiadong Isda show how island ingredients can be turned into meals that are nourishing, familiar, and achievable for families.

Most importantly, the cookbook helps bridge today’s program work with tomorrow’s sustainability. As community kitchens and kitchen gardens continue to develop, Gana sa Isla Cookbook becomes a guide that parents and community leaders can keep using — not only to prepare meals, but to carry forward local food knowledge, healthier habits, and stronger community ownership over time.

Read The Cookbook