TL;DR: PPAN is the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, the country's national nutrition plan written by the National Nutrition Council. The cycle currently in force is PPAN 2023-2028, launched 4 September 2023. July is Nutrition Month by law, under Section 7 of Presidential Decree No. 491, the Nutrition Act of the Philippines, which created the NNC in 1974. The NNC sets the theme each year, and DepEd then issues memoranda enjoining schools to take part. For July 2026 the NNC observed the 52nd National Nutrition Month under the theme Sa PPAN: Sama-sama sa Nutrisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat! with the sub-theme Nutrisyon at Kalikasan, Ating Pangalagaan! Themes change annually, so check the current memorandum.
The phrase "PPAN Nutrition Month" turns up every July because the overarching theme now names the plan itself. Most people searching it want one of two things: what the acronym means, or which theme applies this year. Both answers, and the legal machinery behind them, are below.
What PPAN Is
The Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition is the national plan that coordinates nutrition work across government agencies, local governments, civil society and the private sector. It is not a DepEd document. It is written by the National Nutrition Council, and it is the eleventh in a series the NNC has produced since its creation in 1974.
The current cycle, PPAN 2023-2028, was launched at The Manila Hotel on 4 September 2023 and is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. Its stated focus is on addressing all forms of malnutrition, with particular attention to stunting and wasting, overweight and obesity, poor infant and young child feeding practices, and micronutrient deficiencies. Its strategies are described as supporting Filipinos to access and consume healthier diets, adopt positive nutrition behaviours and practices, and reach nutrition and related services.
Naming the cycle matters. "PPAN" without a date is ambiguous, because a previous cycle covered 2017-2022 and material written for it is still online.
Why July, and Who Says So
Presidential Decree No. 491, dated 25 June 1974, is the Nutrition Act of the Philippines. It created the National Nutrition Council and, at Section 7, declared:
"The month of July shall be designated as NUTRITION MONTH, for the purpose of creating greater awareness among our people on the importance of nutrition. Activities thereto shall be approved and coordinated by the Council."
The same section records that the July observance replaced a Nutrition Week previously held in March. So the date is statutory, the coordinating body is statutory, and the theme is the NNC's to set. That is worth knowing because it explains why the theme is announced nationally rather than decided school by school.
| Who | What they set |
|---|---|
| Presidential Decree No. 491 | That July is Nutrition Month, and that the NNC coordinates it |
| National Nutrition Council | The annual theme and sub-theme, and the national launch |
| DepEd Central Office | A memorandum enjoining schools to participate |
| Regional and division offices | Regional and division memoranda with local activities and deadlines |
| The school | Its own activities within those instructions |
DepEd formally records the decree as the basis. Annex D of DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, the Calendar of Legislated Activities and Celebrations, lists Nutrition Month against the legal basis "PD No. 491, s. 1974," dates it 1 to 31 July, states the intention as creating greater awareness of the importance of nutrition, and gives the suggested activity as a culmination activity at school or classroom level.
The Current Theme, and Why It Will Change
For July 2026 the NNC observed the 52nd National Nutrition Month, launching on 1 July 2026 in partnership with the City Government of Dumaguete. The overarching theme was "Sa PPAN: Sama-sama sa Nutrisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat!" and the 2026 sub-theme was "Nutrisyon at Kalikasan, Ating Pangalagaan!" The campaign framing linked nutrition to environmental sustainability and food systems, and it was explicitly anchored on PPAN 2023-2028.
DepEd picked it up in its own issuances. Regional memoranda for 2026, such as DepEd Region VIII RM No. 789, s. 2026, carried the same theme and enjoined all schools to take part.
The overarching theme has held across recent years while the sub-theme changes annually. Do not assume either will carry forward. The reliable move each June is to check the NNC announcement for the current year and the DepEd memorandum that follows it, then work from those two documents. A regional or division memorandum will usually be more specific about what is actually expected of a school than the national one.
The same discipline applies to the other big school observance with an annually set theme: our Buwan ng Wika guide covers who sets that one and how it differs.
The Numbers the Plan Is Responding To
Nutrition Month materials often skip the data, which is a pity, because the data is what makes the plan legible.
The DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute 2025 Updating Survey, conducted from 23 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 and covering 91.5 per cent of targeted households across all 118 provinces and highly urbanised cities, put stunting among children aged 0 to 59 months at 25.3 per cent. As reported by EDCOM 2, that is a 1.7-point rise from 2023 and the first increase in the stunting rate since 2015. The same survey reported stunting at 18.9 per cent among children aged 5 to 10 and 21.4 per cent among adolescents aged 10 to 19, with school-age underweight prevalence at 18.6 per cent.
Those school-age figures are the ones that land in a classroom, and they are the reason nutrition is measured learner by learner rather than only nationally. Every school records height, weight and nutritional status on School Form 8, the Learner's Basic Health and Nutrition Report, explained in our SF8 guide.
How the Plan Reaches an Actual School
PPAN is a national coordination document. What a learner experiences comes from DepEd issuances that sit downstream of it.
| Mechanism | Governing issuance | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| School-Based Feeding Program | DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2026 | Fortified meals and milk for identified beneficiaries, minimum 120 feeding days |
| Canteen food standards | DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2017 | Categorises food and drinks as green, yellow or red and restricts what may be sold |
| Nutritional status monitoring | School Form 8 | Records height, weight and nutritional status per learner |
| Water, sanitation and hygiene | WinS programme | Handwashing, drinking water and sanitation standards in schools |
| Nutrition Month observance | Annual NNC theme plus DepEd memoranda | Awareness activities across July |
Note the two orders that share the number 13. DO 13, s. 2017 is the healthy food and beverage policy for canteens. DO 013, s. 2026 is the feeding programme. They are frequently confused, including in school memoranda. What schools actually serve under both is covered in our nutrition month food guide, and the hygiene side in our WinS guide.
What This Means If You Are Planning School Activities
- Anchor on the current year's memorandum, not on last year's theme or on a blog post. The sub-theme changes.
- Expect the classroom, not the covered court. Under DO 009, s. 2026, legislated activities "shall be conducted strictly within the classroom through integration into regular teaching and learning processes," with themes and key messages embedded in relevant subject areas. Central Office-initiated competitions are programmed into the End-of-Term Block instead, and national-level activities into the end-of-school-year break.
- Check your division memorandum, which usually specifies the activities, reporting requirements and any contest mechanics for your area.
- Keep the food side consistent with DO 13, s. 2017. An awareness campaign that ends with red-category snacks is working against the policy it is publicising.
- Use your own SF8 data. A school's own nutritional status figures make the month concrete in a way a national statistic cannot.
If nutrition is a career interest rather than a July activity, our BS Nutrition and Dietetics guide covers the degree and the licensure route.
Disclaimer: Nutrition Month themes are set annually by the National Nutrition Council and implemented through DepEd memoranda that differ by region and division. The theme and figures above were current at the time of writing. Verify the current NNC announcement and your division memorandum before planning activities.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare programmes, facilities and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- LawPhil — Presidential Decree No. 491, s. 1974, Nutrition Act of the Philippines (Section 7 designates July as Nutrition Month)
- National Nutrition Council — 2026 National Nutrition Month Celebration (official)
- National Nutrition Council — Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (official)
- PTV News — NNC launches 52nd National Nutrition Month
- The Manila Times — Nutrition Month 2026 puts climate and food security at the heart of better health
- DepEd Region VIII — RM No. 789, s. 2026, 2026 Nutrition Month Celebration (official)
- Manila Bulletin — PPAN 2023-2028: NNC unveils plan to combat nutrition challenges in PH
- EDCOM 2 — Stunting rate rises to 25.3 per cent, first increase in 10 years
- DepEd — DO 013, s. 2026, Institutional Guidelines on the Implementation of the School-Based Feeding Program (official)
- DepEd — DO 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education, Annex D (official)
