Quezon City milk bank now serving non-residents

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

February 10, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Residents from nearby areas are benefiting as well from the services of the Quezon City Human Milk Bank (QCHMB).

Data showed that 56 percent of the milk bank’s pasteurized human milk supply last year was dispensed to non-Quezon City residents while the rest was provided to residents.

“We gladly extend our help to mothers and infants in need, even beyond Quezon City,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement yesterday. “This is how we believe public health should work – cities supporting not only their own residents, but the most vulnerable wherever they may be.”

Established in 2015, the QCHMB provides pasteurized human milk to preterm and medically vulnerable infants whose mothers face lactation difficulties or medical challenges.

Last year, the QCHMB supplied 738,670 milliliters of pasteurized human milk to 496 infant recipients.

The beneficiaries included residents in the cities of Caloocan, Makati, Mandaluyong and Manila as well as the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal.

The local government noted that the lower number of recipients from Quezon City “reflects the availability and effectiveness of the city’s nutrition services and lactation support programs, which enable several QC mothers to become self-sufficient in meeting their infants’ milk needs.”

The initiative was among the finalists in the 2021 and 2024 Galing Pook Awards, which recognizes best practices and programs of local governments.

“Breastmilk is the best nutrition for infants. When mothers face challenges in providing it, the city government is here to step in. Every life nourished is hope restored,” Belmonte said.

Up to 3,315 eligible donors provided human milk to QCHMB last year.

“Milk donations are accepted at the Quezon City General Hospital and Novaliches District Hospital through walk-ins, milk-letting activities in health centers and scheduled milk pickups,” city hall said.

“All collected milk undergoes strict pasteurization to ensure safety for infant consumption,” it added.

Interested human milk donors may also undergo free screening for human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis.