JAKARTA: Indonesia's troubled free-meals programme will open 480 kitchens next month, with most to be located in remote and disadvantaged areas such as the easternmost region of Papua, the head of the National Nutrition Agency (NNA) said in a video post on Wednesday (Sept 30).
NNA head Sudaryono, who goes by a single name, said on Instagram that 269 of the kitchens would be in 16 provinces in eastern Indonesia with high rates of stunting, including Gorontalo, Maluku and several provinces on Papua island. There would also be 211 kitchens in other areas.
The ambitious scheme, a signature campaign promise of President Prabowo Subianto, was launched in 2025 with a goal of feeding 83 million school children and expectant mothers to combat under-nutrition.
The programme has been marred by allegations of corruption, more than 50,000 cases of food poisoning, closures of privately operated kitchens, and fears that its multi-billion-dollar price tag could drive up the budget deficit.
The NNA said it would prioritise recipients in remote areas after the scheme's budget for this year was cut to 229 trillion rupiah (US$12.8 billion) from 335 trillion rupiah. Its budget for next year is 240 trillion rupiah.
Sudaryono said the kitchens would be activated from Friday, training staff and building up the number of meals provided throughout October.
Once the kitchens are activated, their owners are expected to begin receiving payments from the government although details of the scheme remain unclear.
Hundreds of investors who had already built kitchens for the scheme in remote areas have been caught out as government payments were delayed by budget-efficiency measures, with some facilities idle for months. - Reuters
