This article is part of the FT’s financial literacy and inclusion campaign, a joint seasonal appeal with Magic Breakfast.
In the Indonesian town of Warung Kiara, dozens of kitchen staff are hard at work before dawn in the highlands of West Java province, preparing free meals for more than 3,000 schoolchildren.
Starting at 3 a.m., while it’s raining outside, workers arrive at the one-story building’s kitchen to chop and cook hundreds of kilograms of fruit, vegetables, rice, and eggs. The kitchen begins distributing meals to students at around 7 a.m., when the town’s children begin school.
Warungkiara’s kitchen is a pilot project. Thousands of likes will be rolled out across the country starting this month as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship program to provide free lunch to all school children and pregnant mothers.
Once fully implemented, it will be one of the largest free meal programs in the world, reaching more than 82 million people at an estimated annual cost of $28 billion.
This amount is expected to put pressure on Indonesia’s already strained government finances. But Mr Prabowo, who took office in October, has touted the program as a solution to improve child nutrition and boost local economies, adding to the economic impact of the world’s fourth-most populous country. We hope that this will have a ripple effect on growth and development.
“This is a long-term investment in human capital,” said Dadan Hindayana, director of the newly created National Nutrition Agency, which will oversee the free meals program.
“Kids who have never seen a balanced meal will enjoy it.” [such meals] At least once a day, every day. It will affect their growth,” he told the Financial Times in an interview in Jakarta.
Nasruddin, Field Coordinator of the Free Nutritious Meals Program © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Basoro/FTYuni Munggaranti, Nutritionist Collaborating with the Program © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Basoro/FT
Dadan also said the program would improve productivity across Indonesia as the government increases food procurement.
This could help Prabowo achieve his ambitious goal of pushing annual growth from 5% to 8%, but economists say other reforms and investments are also needed.
Prabowo promised free lunches during his campaign, but the pledge was dismissed by critics as populist. But others say it has significant benefits, especially for children’s health and academic performance.
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Stunting (impaired growth and development in children due to malnutrition and frequent infections) has been a problem in Indonesia for decades. According to government data, the prevalence of stunting has fallen from 37% in 2013 to 21.5% in 2023, but the problem with long-term effects remains.
The OECD says that stunting can lead to permanent impairment in physical and cognitive abilities and disadvantages in health, life expectancy, skills and employment.
According to the report, child malnutrition is contributing to poor educational performance in primary schools, and in 2022, as in previous years, Indonesian students’ performance in mathematics, reading and science will be significantly worse than the OECD average. Ta.
The OECD said in a November report that free school meals programs, along with other initiatives, “better prepare children to learn and develop.”
The kitchen feeds around 3,000 students every day © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Basoro/FT
The pilot project in Warung Kiara, a town of 66,000 people, was launched just before Mr Prabowo won the presidential election in February and illustrates the social and economic impact the government is seeking to cause.
Run by a think tank called Indonesia Food Security Review, which advises the government on how to implement the program nationwide, it employs about 50 people, including cooks, drivers and cleaners. We distribute meals to 20 schools six days a week. A nutritionist can help you design your meals.
Kitchen manager Pafumi Idris said the pilot project had created local jobs and increased incomes for staff who were previously housewives, unemployed or working in the informal sector. Permi said all of the produce is sourced from local farmers and suppliers.
“Local residents who previously had no income are now working here,” he told the FT. He added that the income of farmers, hawkers and small retailers in the town has doubled and farmers are expanding to meet kitchen demands.
Kitchen Manager Pafumi Idris: “Local residents who previously had no income are now working here.” © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Basoro
Schools that accepted free meals also said they saw an improvement in attendance.
“Over time, the absenteeism rate has decreased and this also affects the learning process,” said Iswa Ismatullah, principal of Himmatusalaam Islamic High School, which has 109 students.
Atmaja, the primary school principal, said some students take part of their free meals home to share with siblings and parents, but most are farmers or work odd jobs.
The Huarn Chiara kitchen is seen as a benchmark for the program’s national rollout, but expanding to the vast archipelago of 17,000 islands will face many challenges.
Indonesia will have to avoid the pitfalls seen in India, which runs the world’s largest free meals program for 118 million students. Indian government officials and others say the program is being mismanaged in some places.
Setting up kitchens, procuring and distributing food may also be difficult on some remote islands. Dadan, from the National Nutrition Agency, said the government could bring together the police, military and non-governmental organizations. Indonesia plans to install around 30,000 kitchens to accommodate around 30,000 students by the time the program is in full swing by 2027.
“This is a large-scale program and will require the involvement of all stakeholders,” he said.
Students in Warung Kiara eat a free lunch of noodles and vegetables © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Basoro/FT
Another big hurdle is finances. An average meal is expected to cost Rp10,000 per day, and the total cost is expected to include kitchen installation and other operating costs, totaling $28 billion.
Indonesia has budgeted 71 trillion rupiah ($4 billion) for the program’s first year, but its expansion will test Jakarta’s financial strength. Rating agencies say the country’s credit rating could suffer if borrowing increases.
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“The phased rollout of the free meals program could add to recent pressures on Indonesia’s government finances,” said Thomas Lookmarker, head of Asia Pacific sovereigns at Fitch Ratings.
During a recent visit to China, Prabowo signed an agreement with the Chinese government to help fund the program, but the government did not provide details.
Tight finances are a distant concern in Warungkiara. Enen, who works at the pilot kitchen, said the program has helped her family increase their income.
“This (kitchen) is really helpful. Women around here didn’t have any income before, but now that they’re working here, they can help their husbands and children,” she says, looking forward to her next job. she said as she and other women peeled garlic in preparation. Meal of the day.
“When it comes to our children, we are confident that we can provide them with healthy meals, which gives parents peace of mind.”
