TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Acting Governor of Jakarta, Teguh Setyabudi, and the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs, Agus Jabo Priyono, monitored the implementation of the free nutritious meal program at Junior High School (SMP) 1 Barunawati, West Jakarta, on Monday, January 6, 2025.

On its first day, Tegus said, as many as 12,054 portions of nutritious food were distributed to 41 schools in Jakarta.

“In this school alone, 558 students received the free nutritious meal,” he said. 

In Jakarta, four Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) are responsible for the operation of the free meal program. These service units are the Halim SPPG, Susukan Ciracas SPPG, Palmerah SPPG, and Pulogebang Cakung SPPG. 

Teguh said the government plans to add another 13 service units this month, so the program can cover more schools in Jakarta.

By the end of 2025, Teguh said, the government targets 153 service units to operate in Jakarta. He also mentioned that the distance between the service units and the free meal distribution sites is no more than five kilometers to maintain the quality of the food.

Based on Tempo's observation, the menu provided for the students today consisted of white rice, fried chicken with kremes (crunchy flakes), tofu, stir-fried long beans, and oranges, served on stainless steel containers.

Hadijah, one of the teachers at the school, said the students had previously been advised to bring their own spoons and forks to ensure hygiene. 

There was no milk available for today’s menu, to which Deputy Minister Agus said the government plans to add two or three times a week.

President Prabowo Subianto’s administration commenced the free nutritious meal program on January 6, 2025. The free lunches will be given at 190 locations across 26 provinces. 

Presidential Communications Chief Hasan Nasbi said that from January to March 2025, the free nutritious meal program is expected to serve three million people, including toddlers, Islamic boarding school students, preschool students, kindergarten students, elementary school students, junior high school students, high school students, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. 

The government targets the free nutritious meal program to reach 15 million people by the end of this year. 

Andi Adam Faturahman contributed to the writing of this article.

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