THE incidence of involuntary hunger in the country rose to 10.4 percent in the second quarter of the year from 9.8 percent in the first quarter, the June 28 to July 1 survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
The survey, which involved 1,500 adult respondents nationwide with a ±2.5 percent margin of error, showed that 8.3 percent of Filipinos experienced Moderate Hunger, while 2.1 percent experienced Severe Hunger, resulting in the 10.4 percent hunger rate (percent of Moderate Hunger plus percent of Severe Hunger).
Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the previous three months.
The SWS said that those who experienced involuntary hunger – being hungry and not having anything to eat — at least once in the past three months were highest in Metro Manila (15.7 percent in June up from 10.7 percent in March), followed by Luzon (11.3 percent up from 8.7 percent), the Visayas (9.3 percent which is statistically unchanged from 9.7 percent), and Mindanao (6.3 percent down from 11.7 percent).
The survey firm found that hunger dropped among those who rated their families as poor with 10.8 percent in June down from 15.4 percent in March, and among those who rated their families as food poor with 94 percent down from 18.5 percent.
The government recently launched the pilot testing of the Food Stamp Program which aims to provide one million poorest families with a P3,000 nutritious food subsidy per month until 2027.
The program aims to address not just hunger but also poverty as beneficiaries are required to undergo skills training and seek jobs while enrolled in the program, as well as malnutrition and stunting among children by limiting the exchange of the P3,000 assistance to identified nutritious food from accredited groceries and sellers.
Compared to March 2023, the number who experienced moderate hunger hardly moved from 8.6 percent, while severe hunger rose slightly from 1.2 percent, the SWS said.
In Metro Manila, moderate hunger rose by 2.3 points from 9.7 percent in March to 12 percent in June.
Interestingly, the rate of overall hunger rate rose sharply among those who considered themselves not poor or borderline poor.
Hunger fell among the self-rated poor. The June survey found 45 percent of Filipino families rating themselves as poor and 34 percent of families saying they were “food-poor.” — With Paul Icamina
