Indonesia will open 480 new kitchens in October under its nationwide free-meals programme, with most of the facilities planned for remote and disadvantaged communities where child stunting remains a major concern.
National Nutrition Agency head Sudaryono said 269 of the new kitchens will be established across 16 provinces in eastern Indonesia, including Gorontalo, Maluku and several provinces on Papua island. Another 211 kitchens will be opened in other parts of the country.
The kitchens are expected to begin operating from Friday, with meal production gradually increasing throughout October. The expansion is intended to improve access to nutritious meals in areas that have traditionally been harder to reach.
The free-meals programme, one of President Prabowo Subianto’s major campaign promises, was launched in 2025 with an eventual goal of providing meals to 83 million schoolchildren and pregnant women as part of efforts to address undernutrition.
However, the programme has faced several challenges since its launch, including allegations of corruption, food-safety incidents and delays in government payments to some kitchen operators.
The National Nutrition Agency has shifted its focus toward remote areas after the programme’s budget for 2026 was reduced to 229 trillion rupiah, or about US$12.8 billion, from an earlier allocation of 335 trillion rupiah. The budget planned for 2027 is 240 trillion rupiah.
The funding changes have also affected private investors who built kitchens in anticipation of government contracts. Some facilities in remote areas reportedly remained idle for months while operators waited for payments.
Authorities have said the programme will prioritise areas where nutritional needs are greatest and where existing facilities are insufficient. Earlier proposals also called for communal kitchens in disadvantaged regions, particularly in Papua, where conventional school and residential arrangements can make meal distribution more difficult.
The expansion comes as Indonesia continues to balance the programme’s ambitious nutritional goals with concerns over implementation, food safety and public spending.
With the 480 kitchens scheduled to come online in October, the government is placing greater emphasis on reaching communities in remote parts of the archipelago while gradually expanding meal production and delivery.
