Indonesia to halt free meals during school holidays, scale back program scope

The program will stop from June 22 to July 13, said Agustina Arumsari, deputy head of the National Nutrition Agency, late on Thursday.

The program will also be paused in school holidays in the future, she said. Meals had been ⁠distributed during the school break last year.

The agency will stop funding meals for around 39,000 students in 76 schools in areas judged to have the economic capacity to meet nutritional needs, and shift the capacity to students in remote areas, according to Arumsari.

Students pray before eating meals supplied by the Indonesian government's free meal program at an elementary school in Banda Aceh. Photo by AFP

She said the moves were part of a reorganization and efficiency drive. An improvement in governance and oversight was promised after the arrest of its former head early this month on allegations of corruption linked ‌to ⁠the program.

The budget allocation for the program this year was earlier cut to Rp268 trillion (US$15.1 billion) from Rp335 trillion.

The agency plans to propose reducing spending next year from an initial plan of Rp270 trillion.

"We think the figure is ⁠too big," Arumsari said. "With the budget we have, we can cut back and make it more efficient."

The agency will also cut incentives to kitchens that are closed ⁠during the school holidays, which she said could save around Rp3.4 trillion.

There may be further cuts to the scheme after taking into account ⁠social and economic conditions, she said. Kitchens which service a low number of recipients or do not meet the required standards could be closed, Arumsari said.