Quezon City's Nutrition Month celebration showcases the role of VBS in strengthening the city’s food system

VBS vendor during the Quezon City nutrition month bazaar. [PHOTO-Kaymart Gimutao]

The celebration of Quezon City's Nutrition Month highlighted the important role of the Vendor Business School (VBS) and the small food vendors in ensuring the delivery of nutritious and healthy foods to the city's residents. In particular, the small food vendors who are students of VBS participated in the city's Food Bazaar organized by the local government at the Quezon City Hall's Covered Pathwalk from July 1 to 5.

In a bid to strengthen Quezon City's food system and support food-related small businesses, the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative partnered with the Quezon City Government through the VBS Program which aims to enhance the capabilities of the city's vendors in various aspects of entrepreneurship, such as business management, food safety, market technology, climate change adaptation, and nutrition.

Opening of the bazaar with Mayor Joy. [PHOTO- PAISD] At the food bazaar, the VBS students showcased their agricultural products, displaying posters at their booth detailing the nutritional information of their items. The information was categorized into three main food groups: 'Go Foods' (providing energy), 'Grow Foods' (promoting growth and development), and 'Glow Foods' (maintaining health and skin glow). The posters also highlighted native Filipino vegetables such as hyacinth bean (bataw), cowpea (paayap), lima bean (patani), and winged bean (sigarilyas) with their respective nutritional content.

This year's Nutrition Month theme, "QC EatSaFiesta! Sarap, Sustansya, Sapat sa Bawat ,"emphasized nutritional awareness and healthy living. Organized by the Quezon City Health Department, the event aligned with the new Quezon City Ordinance SP-3254 S. 2024, also known as the Quezon City Calorie Labeling Ordinance. Food Bazaar participants were encouraged to include calorie labels on their products, helping Quezon City Government employees and bazaar visitors make informed dietary choices.

Women-VBS-vendor-joining-bazaar. [PHOTO- Kaymart Gimutao] The CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative and the Quezon City Government launched the VBS on February 8, with 140 market vendors as its initial participants. As one of only two cities worldwide included in the implementation of this program (the other being Nairobi in Kenya), the VBS is hoped to be replicated in other cities in the Philippines and worldwide to become a cornerstone in building more inclusive, innovative, and vibrant urban food systems.

Authors:Kaymart Gimutao, communications consultant for the Resilient Cities initiative & Arma Bertuso, Focal Person- Resilient Cities Initiative.

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