Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program Region III Convergence Team (RCT) conducted the 1st Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) Forum to approximately 55 organized groups participated by 137 individuals. Among these 55 organized groups, there were at least 20 cooperatives.

The event was a collaborative activity organized by the different enablers of the EPAHP Region III Convergence Team led by the Region III DSWD-EPAHP for the benefit of the different organized groups of the region, especially its food-producing CBOs. There were two segments provided during the forum. First, the supply side/food-producing CBOs have been capacitated on the following topics;

1) Basic Packaging and Product Enhancement Orientation discussed by the San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation;

2) Basic Online Marketing and Product Catalogue Making delivered by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); and

3) Overview of the Negotiated Procurement Community Participation.

Another segment is the presentations of the different institutions on their demands i.e.

DSWD’s demand on its Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) & Residential Care Centers, the National Nutrition Council’s demands, the DepEd demands, and the Bureau

of Jail Management and Penology demands.