President establishes 85 service units for free meals program

Magelang, C Java (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has established 85 service unit offices for the Free Nutritious Meals program, which is currently being trialed in the country.

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi, after participating at the Red and White Cabinet retreat at the Military Academy, Magelang, Central Java, on Sunday, stated that those units were prepared ahead of the program implementation in January 2025.

"The trial is not only carried out in one location. We have many locations for the trial, which has been running for months. It's been approximately 10 months; a lot has been evaluated," he said.

One of the offices is located in Magelang, precisely at Jenderal Gatot Soebroto Street, near the Military Academy.

The service unit of the Free Nutritious Meals program, which is tasked with providing 3,000 to 4,000 portions of meals to the beneficiaries in Magelang, has the function of coordinating the distribution of the meals with relevant parties.

Hadi affirmed that the service units will be spread to reach outermost areas, including in Papua, starting next year.

He noted that the National Nutrition Agency still needs to prepare a special method to reach those areas.

Similarly, Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, has also confirmed the number of service units that are conducting trials for the Free Nutritious Meals program.

"There are 85 service units spread across provinces, and they will be a model nationally," he said through a text message.

The Free Nutritious Meals program is one of the work programs of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka for their 2024–2029 tenure.

The government formed the National Nutrition Agency in August 2024 to support the implementation of the program.