Indonesia Launches First-Ever Free Meal Program for Schoolchildren and Pregnant Women
Jakarta, January 6: Indonesia has launched a large-scale program to provide free meals to children and pregnant women. The goal is to reach 82.9 million people by 2029, as part of efforts to address the country's malnutrition issues.
This program was a key promise during the presidential campaign last year, which helped bring President Prabowo Subianto to power. On Monday, the program was rolled out quietly, with 190 kitchens preparing meals for 570,000 people on the first day, distributed across more than 20 provinces in the country.
The goal is to expand the program to reach 82.9 million people, or nearly a third of the country’s 280 million population, by 2029, which is considered a massive logistical effort.
However, Prabowo's signature policy has been controversial. Economists have raised concerns over the initial estimated cost of $28 billion over five years, fearing it could damage Indonesia's long-standing reputation for fiscal discipline.
Prabowo has defended the program, calling it strategic in combating child malnutrition and stimulating regional economic growth in Indonesia. The first phase of the program this year is expected to cost 71 trillion rupiah ($4.39 billion) to provide meals for 15 million people. At an elementary school in West Jakarta, students collected food trays, which included rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, beans, and an orange.
Hana Yohana, a parent of a first-grade student, said, "Thank God, this helps us. We used to work hard preparing food every morning, and now we don’t have to."
The government and military will be responsible for preparing and distributing the meals. They have already begun pilot programs, distributing food trays with rice, chicken, and milk.
Dedek Prayudi, a spokesperson for Prabowo's office, said the number of meal recipients will rise to 3 million by March and will continue to expand throughout the year.
