Rep. Brian Daniel Poe Llamanzares of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-List has introduced House Bill 2191, also known as the “National School Feeding Cloud Kitchens Act.”
Under this proposal, food preparation would move from individual schools to centralized, professionally run “School Feeding Cloud Kitchens” (SFCKs), which would serve multiple schools in a region.
Why This Shift?
- Reduce teacher burden: Currently, teachers are often tasked with cooking, procurement, and distribution of meals—duties that can detract from their core teaching responsibilities.
- Improve food safety & quality: Central kitchens allow stricter hygiene protocols, consistent standards, and better-quality meals.
- Achieve economies of scale: Bulk purchasing and centralized operations can lower costs per meal and improve efficiency.
- Standardize nutrition: The bill envisions a National School Feeding Council (NSFC) that will design balanced menus, set standards, and monitor program implementation.
Roles & Structure
- The Department of Education (DepEd) would remain responsible for distributing meals within schools and handling feedback and supervision.
- Local Government Units (LGUs) would support by providing land, infrastructure, logistical help, and sourcing local produce.
- A phased transition is planned to ensure continuous meal service while shifting from school-based kitchens to centralized ones.
Poe argues that this system could boost student health and attendance, free up teachers to teach, and provide better accountability over the school feeding program.
He is pushing for the immediate passage of the bill to institutionalize this model nationwide.