Abstract
Malnutrition remains a pressing public health concern in the Philippines, affecting millions of children through stunting and wasting. In response, the Department of Education (DepEd) institutionalized the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) as a national intervention to reduce hunger, improve learners’ nutritional status, and support academic performance, guided by DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2021, which underscores procurement processes, feeding mechanisms, and administrative support as vital components. Despite these measures, challenges persist in ensuring fidelity, sustainability, and equity in program delivery. To address this gap, this study examined teachers’ level of efficiency and practices in SBFP implementation and its relationship to learners’ academic performance in a large sized division in Central Philippines for School Year 2024–2025. Employing a descriptive–correlational design, data were collected from 125 teacher respondents and 268 learners using a validated researcher made questionnaire and official school records. Findings revealed that teachers demonstrated very high levels of efficiency in procurement, feeding, and administrative domains, with the strongest emphasis on food safety and nutrition standards, while practices were very high in feeding and administrative aspects but slightly lower in procurement. Learners achieved a mean grade of 85.59, interpreted as Very Satisfactory. Comparative analyses indicated no significant differences in teachers’ efficiency and practices when grouped by age or designation, underscoring a unified level of engagement across subgroups. Importantly, correlation analyses confirmed strong, positive, and statistically significant relationships between teachers’ efficiency and learners’ performance and between teachers’ practices and learners’ performance. These findings affirm that SBFP, when implemented with high efficiency and consistent practices, significantly enhances academic achievement.
Keywords: School-based feeding program, teachers’ efficiency, teachers’ practices, learners’ academic performance, DepEd