Jakarta (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said that the Free Nutritious Meals program aims to improve Indonesia's human resources by providing quality nutrition for children.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, she cited a World Bank study in 2024, which found that providing nutritious meals can increase attendance rates as well as participation rates, and reduce malnutrition/stunting.
In addition, according to the United Nations in 2021, providing nutritious meals in developed countries helped control eating patterns and reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes early on in school-age children.
"The impact of the Free Nutritious Meals program is expected to increase regional/village economic activities, especially MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), create job opportunities, and encourage economic growth," she wrote.
The government officially rolled out the program on Monday as part of efforts to improve the community's nutrition. In January, the program's primary focus will be students.
The program, which is among the Asta Cita or eight main programs launched by the Prabowo-Gibran government, aims to improve Indonesia's future generation by fulfilling the nutritional needs of pregnant women, toddlers, schoolchildren, and individuals at risk of stunting.
The government has prepared a budget of Rp71 trillion (nearly USD4.4 billion) for the program, which is currently being implemented simultaneously at 190 kitchens spread across 26 provinces.
By mid-2025, the government aims to make five thousand kitchens fully operational to support the implementation of the program, which is expected to serve up to 20 million beneficiaries.
The free meals program will be implemented in stages to reach the target of 83 million beneficiaries nationwide by 2029, according to the deputy chief of Presidential Staff, M. Qodari.
"As this is a very massive program that reaches all regions in Indonesia with the total beneficiaries at almost 83 million, of course, it cannot be done all at once. It has to be carried out in stages," he said after reviewing the program at an elementary school in Pulogebang, East Jakarta, on Monday.
The gradual implementation of the program will allow improvements in the system and mechanism to address potential challenges, he explained.
