Jakarta. Indonesia’s flagship free nutritious meal program, launched earlier this year under President Prabowo Subianto, has reached more than 15 million beneficiaries at a cost of just Rp 8.2 trillion ($504 million) in state funds, an official said on Tuesday.

The initiative, which targets school-aged children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, is supported by more than 5,100 community kitchens -- known as Nutrition Service Units (SPPG) -- operating across the country, according to National Nutrition Agency head Dadan Hindayana.

“The number of beneficiaries has exceeded 15 million, and God willing, it will approach 20 million,” Dadan told reporters after a meeting with the president at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

The next target is to establish 14,000 additional kitchens to expand the program’s reach, in partnership with the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), National Police, State Intelligence Agency, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), private sector businesses, and the country’s two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

The construction of these kitchens -- each costing up to Rp 2 billion ($123,000) -- is fully funded by partners, not the state.

“The funds already circulating in the community for building these kitchens amount to nearly Rp 28 trillion, and this is partner funding, not state money,” Dadan said.

He added that the National Nutrition Agency’s Rp 8.2 trillion expenditure up to August 11 has been allocated solely for procuring nutritious food and ingredients.

“The free nutritious meal program has so far only absorbed Rp 8.2 trillion from the state budget, focused purely on nutrition interventions. The service facilities are built by our partners,” he said.

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