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Govt to allocate Rp 400 trillion for 2026 free meal program
The government aims to increase the 2026 free meals budget nearly six times from this year's initial figure of Rp 71 trillion to cover around five times this year's target of 17.5 million recipients, while it looks for an extra Rp 100 trillion to fund the program until the end of 2025.
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A student sits at her desk with a tray of food distributed through the government's free nutritious meal program on Jan. 15, 2025, at SDN 1 Gagaksipat state elementary school in Boyolali, Central Java. (Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
T
he government plans to allocate Rp 400 trillion (US$24.68 billion) for the free nutritious meal program next year to reach 82.9 million recipients, the head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has said.
The figure is nearly six times more than this year’s budget of Rp 71 trillion for a target of 17.5 million recipients.
“Next year, because [the target is] 82.9 million, from January to December [the budget will be] Rp 400 trillion,” BGN head Dadan Hindayana said on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta, as quoted by Kontan.co.id.
Since it was launched on Jan. 6, the free meal program has reached 650,000 schoolchildren in 31 provinces.
President Prabowo Subianto has expressed optimism that the program would reach all Indonesian children by the end of 2025, with a progressive target of 3 million, 6 million and 15 million children by April, August and September, respectively.
Dadan said the government might need an additional budget of Rp 100 trillion for this year’s free meal program to meet the President’s latest directive to expand the full-year target to 82.9 million recipients.
This estimate would apply if the expansion efforts began in September, he explained, “But if, for example, [the gradual expansion] started in October or November, it could be less than that.”
