Monday, October 30, 2006 Social welfare to open more thrift stores
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will operate at least 175 Tindahan Natin (TN) stores in South Cotabato by the end of this year to allow poor residents to avail of cheaper food supplies offered by the government.
Corazon Obenieta, coordinator of the TN outlets in South Cotabato, said officials of DSWD in Southwestern Mindanao endorsed the opening of more TN stores following an increase in demand from the public.
She said only 12 TN stores manned by multi-purpose cooperatives are currently operating in the province's 10 towns and lone city.
The province was earlier identified as one of the 49 priority areas by the National Nutrition Council's Food for School Program based on the "noted hunger incidence."
Obenieta said the 175 proposed TN outlets will be distributed in various parts of the province, especially in areas where hunger cases were previously monitored.
She said the DSWD will allocate P20,000 as capital for each of the proposed TN stores.
For the distribution scheme, Obenieta said rice and noodles allocation would be sold to the identified beneficiaries at prices prescribed by the National Food Authority (NFA).
According to the program's guidelines, a family of six may avail of weekly rice allocation computed based on the daily allocation of 0.32 kg per member.
Such allocation was based on the per capita consumption of 115 kilograms per year.
Each family-beneficiary may only purchase the quantity of rice equivalent to their weekly allocation. The same quantity was the prescribed limit for a single purchase.
The owner or operator of a TN outlet or store may also sell other commodities, which may be sourced from NFA or other suppliers. (Allen V. Estabillo)
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