LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 16 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Bicol (DSWD-5) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) turned over 35 community kitchen kits to local government units (LGUs) across the region to help provide hot meals to disaster-affected families and individuals stranded during emergencies.

In a report on Friday, DSWD-5 Director Norman Laurio said the initiative supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s call for stronger disaster preparedness by bringing emergency food preparation closer to communities and enabling LGUs to respond without relying solely on mobile kitchens deployed by regional offices.

"The kits are intended to help LGUs prepare and distribute cooked meals to evacuees and locally ...