Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The government recently denied dishing out raw food instead of hot meals in Indonesia's colossal school-feeding program, as the country spent trillions of rupiah so far.

Almost 7 months have passed since President Prabowo Subianto launched his signature free meal program. The retired army general wants to feed Indonesian students across the archipelago nutrient-rich meals at the state expense in a bid to improve the country's nutritional intake. Indonesia has allotted Rp 71 trillion ($4.3 billion) for this program, but will increase its annual budget to Rp 171 trillion to reach more students.

This ambitious program recently came under fire after a photo of the kids allegedly being served raw food went viral on the social media platform X.

In a post uploaded by @TrinityTraveler, the user claimed that an elementary school student in South Tangerang had received packs of uncooked rice, salted fish, peanuts, quail eggs, and some fruits as part of their government-aided kids' meal. The user claimed that all these ingredients were meant for a five-day serving.

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN), who oversees the program, said that the government had not decided whether to roll out raw ingredients, especially during the school holidays that are close approaching.

"There is no such policy [of serving uncooked ingredients]," the agency's head Dadan Hindayana said Wednesday evening.

According to media reports, Indonesian schools will start going on a long break starting as early as next week. The same goes for schools in Banten, of which the aforementioned South Tangerang is part of. Students will return to their classes for the new academic year in mid-July.

Dadan said that BGN was currently working on a technical guideline that would detail the meal rollout during the school holidays. The kitchens in charge of the food prep will also conduct surveys to find out whether the kids can make time to pick up their free lunch at school.

"We will give them fresh food if they can come to school. The kitchens can serve them food that will last longer, like eggs, fruits, and milk that are enough for the next two days," Dadan said.

Suppose most students can't stop by their schools during the holidays. In that case, the agency will focus on feeding the other beneficiaries in this budget-heavy program: expectant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers.

Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara revealed Tuesday that this free meal program had cost the country Rp 4.4 trillion ($269 million) as of June 12. These trays of meals have already made their way to almost 4.9 million individuals, including students and pregnant moms. At least 1,716 local kitchens are now taking part in the megaproject. Indonesia wants to feed 82.9 million people by the end of the year.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/govt-denies-serving-raw-school-meal-as-programs-bill-hits-269-millio