Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship program, which provides free nutritious meals to children, expectant mothers, and breastfeeding mothers, is projected to generate at least 2.5 million new jobs, according to a presidential advisor.

Budi Mulya, the advisor, shared the estimate after observing a trial run of the program in Sukabumi, West Java.

During the trial, a community kitchen staffed by 55 workers prepared meals for approximately 3,000 students across 18 schools in the area.

“Based on our preliminary calculations, if the program is rolled out nationwide with each kitchen serving 2,000 students, we would need around 48,000 kitchens. This would require approximately 2.5 million workers for simultaneous implementation across the country,” Budi explained.

The program, set to launch in January, will initially target 27.2 million expectant and breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, and 37 million school-aged children, Budi added.

“Our goal is to include more than 60 million beneficiaries in this initiative,” he said.

Although the program requires significant funding, it offers numerous advantages. These include empowering local communities, boosting micro- and small-sized enterprises, strengthening rural cooperatives, and supporting the government’s food security efforts.

The meals will be tailored to the dietary preferences of each region, using locally sourced ingredients to benefit farmers and local businesses.

“This initiative will create jobs and reduce poverty by involving local communities in its implementation,” Budi noted.

Farmers are expected to play a key role by supplying essential ingredients such as rice, eggs, meat, vegetables, milk, and spices, with the added benefit of a stable and guaranteed market.