In a decisive effort to combat food insecurity among students and to ensure access to healthy and free food, Project HUKAD, a university-wide initiative aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, with the support of Project SUSTENAR, was officially launched.

Aiming to support Central Philippines State University’s students, Project HUKAD, or the “Hunger alleviation and University Kitchen Assistance for Disadvantaged students,” is sponsored by the Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental – Bacolod City Chapter’s “Thankful Heart Shares: Project SUSTENAR or Sustainable and Unified Support for Targeted Emergency Nutritional Assistance and Response," which was officially launched on April 14, 2026.

The Camingawan Tagukon Diversified Farmers Association (CATADIFA), a farming entity assisted by CPSU and composed of local farmers from various farming associations, expressed their support by extending a Php10,000.00 cash donation to the initiative as an expression of solidarity in supporting underprivileged students.
Following the opening program at the Main Campus’ Research, Development, and Extension Center, students gathered to partake of the prepared meal set to strengthen the bonds within the university community and reinforce the project's commitment to collective well-being.

HUKAD, which is dubbed a university-wide extension program on student food security and emergency support services amidst war and crisis, is organized by the university’s Production and Enterprise Development Office (PEDO), headed by Director Dr. Maryvic P. Pedrosa, with the active support of University President Dr. Aladino C. Moraca, Red Cross Bacolod City Chapter Administrator Ms. Rita Benita Mirasol, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Grenny I. Jungco, and Extension and Community Services Office Director Dr. Jimmy O. Degillo.
At its core, Project HUKAD responds to a pressing concern: the increasing attrition rates among students who struggle to meet basic needs, particularly access to food, due to the inflation in the Philippine economy, which is indirectly inflicted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Already implemented by the CPSU – Hinoba-an Campus, headed by Campus Administrator Armie Sheila T. Calago, the program aims to remove a significant barrier to education, enabling students to focus on their academic pursuits without the burden of hunger by providing consistent meal support.

The PH Red Cross Bacolod City Chapter also donated several bags of high-quality rice to be used in the food-providing undertaking and also distributed 100 hygiene kits to the attendees to promote good hygiene habits and help prevent hygiene-related diseases.

The participation of CATADIFA in the initiative also demonstrates the solid partnership of the university with the local community, especially with the local farmers who shared their financial resources despite the common economic struggles that Filipinos face and as a token of enduring partnership with the academic community and their steadfast spirit of bayanihan, despite prevailing financial constraints.