Brown rice in school canteens

The Department of Education (DepEd) has directed both public and private schools nationwide to include brown rice in its school canteen menu. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the directive is due to the celebration of the National Rice Awareness Month from November until December 5. To help promote the health benefits of brown rice among students, DepEd has been partnering with the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry (DABPI) for the“Brown for Good” campaign. Briones said that the move is in line with the DA-BPI’s goal to “share the goodness of rice, particularly that of the brown or unpolished rice.” Aside from serving brown rice to students in the school canteen, DepEd officials and school personnel were also requested to undertake other suggested activities such as arrangement of serving brown rice instead of white rice during events, forums, seminars, trainings, conferences, feeding programs and other similar activities. (Merlina Hernando – Malipot)