Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto has allocated a budget of Rp 10,000 ($0.63) per portion per day for his flagship program providing free nutritious meals to schoolchildren and pregnant women. This amount is lower than the initially expected Rp 15,000 due to budget constraints.

“We aim to provide an average of Rp 10,000 per child and pregnant woman per day. We initially wanted Rp 15,000, but due to the current budget conditions, it will be Rp 10,000,” President Prabowo said in a press conference at the Presidential Office on Friday.

Despite the reduced amount, Prabowo assured that the Rp 10,000 budget would be sufficient for several regions in Indonesia, meeting quality and nutritional standards.

Starting in January 2025, the government will begin distributing free school lunches to improve the nutrition of Indonesian children. The initiative has received a substantial allocation of Rp 71 trillion (approximately $4.5 billion) to feed 15 million children in 2025, with the program set to expand to more than 80 million recipients by 2029. The estimated total budget for the initiative over the years is expected to reach Rp 400 trillion.

It is unclear whether this allocation will remain as planned, as the press conference ended without a Q&A session.

Prabowo said that the program would focus on supporting lower-income families, especially those with children. He explained that a typical low-income family has about three children, meaning that each family could receive Rp 30,000 per day for nutritious meals.

In addition to the free meal program, the government will continue to offer various social assistance programs, including the Family Hope Program (PKH), to those in need.

“I believe the government has made significant efforts to secure support for all segments of society, especially workers, given the budget limitations. Of course, we aim to improve in the coming periods,” said Prabowo.

During previous trials, each meal was capped at around Rp 15,000, with the menu typically including Indonesia’s staple foods: rice, chicken, vegetables, fruit, and milk. The government has reportedly tried slightly lowering the cost to Rp 14,900 in some trial runs. The government is also considering using “fish milk” instead of cow’s milk for the program, due to Indonesia's limited domestic milk production. “Fish milk” refers to a food product processed from fish protein.

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