Indonesia’s Free School Meals Under Fire as Food Poisoning Cases Surge

Crisis in a program designed to fight child hunger

When Rini Irawati rushed into a crowded emergency center in West Java, her teenage daughter Nabila was pale and struggling to breathe. Hours earlier, the 16 year old had eaten a free lunch provided at school. She was one of hundreds of students in her area who became violently ill on the same day. The meals were part of a nationwide program launched to fight malnutrition and stunting among children, yet repeated outbreaks of suspected food poisoning have turned a flagship social policy into a public health crisis.

The Free Nutritious Meals initiative, introduced in January by President Prabowo Subianto, set out to give children across Indonesia a daily meal, with additional coverage for toddlers, pregnant women, and new mothers. It was billed as a way to boost attendance and learning by tackling empty stomachs. Instead, clusters of students have been hospitalized in several provinces. Parents are organizing protests and posting photos of spoiled food. Critics say the scale up has outpaced the systems needed to keep food safe in a country of 17,000 islands and tens of thousands of schools.

As anger grew, officials vowed to tighten standards. The president has emphasized that the share of meals linked to illness is small compared with the total served. Health experts counter that rates do not matter to a parent whose child ends up on an IV. They argue that preventable mistakes are recurring across kitchens, suppliers, and delivery routes, and that a program meant to nourish children must not put them at risk.

What the program promised and how it grew so fast

The program, often referred to by its Indonesian name Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), aims to expand to tens of millions of beneficiaries. The National Nutrition Agency says daily meals have already reached many school students, with a goal of serving up to 83 million people by year end. The plan includes a network of centralized kitchens and a significant budget to build capacity. Officials say the policy is designed to address stunting, a condition linked to chronic malnutrition that affects about one in five Indonesian children under five years old. Stunting impairs growth and can limit cognitive development, so reliable nutrition at school is seen as a vital intervention.

The scale is enormous. Agencies plan to expand to roughly 32,000 kitchens by next year. The budget runs into the tens of billions of dollars over the next two years, reflecting the ambition to cover a vast archipelago. Supporters also point to potential benefits beyond nutrition, such as job creation in catering and agriculture, and relief for families facing rising food prices. Those goals have been overshadowed by serious safety failures that demand urgent attention.

The scope of the outbreaks

Since the rollout, thousands of children have fallen ill after eating school meals, with the largest clusters recorded in West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and parts of Sumatra and Sulawesi. In late September, over 1,300 children in Cipongkor District, West Java, became sick. Victims commonly report stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Some episodes were declared extraordinary events to accelerate response. Laboratory tests in confirmed cases have found bacterial contamination, including salmonella and bacillus cereus, organisms that can multiply when cooked food sits too long at unsafe temperatures.

Officials and civil groups have released different tallies. By the end of September, the National Nutrition Agency confirmed 6,517 students affected. In a separate update to parliament, the food and drug agency reported 103 incidents affecting 9,089 children from January to September, with a spike from late July when many new kitchens began operating. Several nongovernmental groups have documented even higher figures, exceeding 10,000 and rising above 15,000 by late October. Divergent numbers reflect ongoing investigations and the fact that multiple agencies and local governments are compiling data, often after large clusters occur.

How meals turned unsafe

Food safety breaks down when ingredients are poorly stored, workers are not trained, or cooked dishes remain in the danger zone for bacteria for too long. The challenge grows when a single kitchen prepares thousands of portions, then trucks them through midday heat to many schools. Indonesia’s geography, traffic, and limited cold chain in some districts compound the problem. A safe program requires consistent hygiene, temperature control, and time discipline in every kitchen and along every delivery route, every day.

Weak kitchens and hygiene gaps

Investigations have repeatedly found the same errors. Meals distributed four hours or more after cooking. Ingredients procured too far in advance. Food stored in conditions that allow bacteria to multiply. Trays and utensils washed in dirty water. Some kitchens lacked refrigeration or used expired sauce. In a few incidents, menus included inappropriate items for a mass feeding program, such as fried shark, which heightens concerns about storage and potential mercury exposure. The load on facilities can be extreme. In parts of West Java, a single kitchen has been tasked with serving thousands of students, making on site quality checks difficult. Legislators reviewing the program said that only a tiny fraction of kitchens had earned formal hygiene and sanitation certification.

Diah Saminarsih, a public health leader and founder of the Centre for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives, warned that the design is placing too much pressure on kitchens and staff.

In West Java one kitchen may cater to 3,500 students, making it impossible for a nutritionist to control quality.

Rushed rollout and oversight gaps

Experts argue that the program expanded before a strong regulatory framework was in place. Clear standards for preparation and distribution, a cross ministerial oversight structure, and uniform certification were either missing or unevenly applied. Reporting has been reactive, with limited real time data on kitchen conditions and health outcomes to guide rapid fixes. In some districts, security forces and affiliated groups have been involved in kitchen or logistics operations, a choice that critics say blurs accountability lines and invites non technical actors into sensitive public health work.

Made Supriatma, a political researcher who has tracked program implementation, said the political timetable appears to have been prioritized over readiness.

The policy was meant as a quick win in the first 100 days, but it has backfired and produced a wave of public anger.

Government response and new safeguards

President Prabowo has defended the effort by pointing to scale and benefits. He has said the number of poisoning cases is a tiny fraction of the more than a billion meals served, and he credits the program with better attendance and learning outcomes for many students.

Of more than a billion meals served, cases represent about 0.0017 percent, and the program is improving attendance and achievement.

The National Nutrition Agency says it is tightening operations and training, with a goal of preventing new incidents and rebuilding trust. Officials have suspended kitchens linked to outbreaks, retrained personnel, and allowed some facilities to reopen after meeting standards. The agency plans to expand the kitchen network while making each unit smaller and easier to supervise, and has drafted stricter regulations on hygiene and food handling.

Dadan Hindayana, the agency’s head, said the goal is to remove avoidable risks through clear rules and stronger daily discipline.

Our objective is zero incidents. We will enforce stricter hygiene and move to smaller kitchen operations that we can monitor closely.

Technical details from health authorities point to common mistakes that can be fixed with training and consistent enforcement. The head of the food and drug agency, Taruna Ikrar, told lawmakers that many kitchens involved in outbreaks were new and struggled with basic food safety.

We found meals distributed four hours after cooking, improper storage of ingredients, and a lack of knowledge of food security among kitchen workers.

Members of parliament have pressed for faster certification and tighter kitchen to school ratios. Lawmaker Edy Wuryanto highlighted the scale of the task and the urgent need to raise standards.

Only 36 of 8,000 kitchens had earned hygiene and sanitation certification. That must change quickly.

Other legislators have urged the government to reduce the number of students served by each kitchen to make quality control feasible and to schedule more frequent inspections. Authorities say new guidelines will address procurement windows, delivery times, and temperature checks for every batch that leaves a kitchen.

Politics and transparency concerns

Questions about transparency and contracting have added pressure. Civil society monitors say the program’s budget is among the largest for a single social initiative in recent years, yet they see gaps in the rules that govern who runs kitchens, who supplies ingredients, and who audits performance. Activists warn that inadequate procurement oversight and the involvement of organizations with political or security ties can compromise food quality and public trust.

Egi Primayogha of Indonesia Corruption Watch said the legal and governance scaffolding has not matched the size of the program’s ambitions.

This program has one of the biggest budgets in history, yet there is not one single regulation ensuring transparent and accountable management.

Families caught between relief and risk

Not every story is bleak. Many schools report that children who once skipped lunch now receive a hot meal. A principal in South Jakarta said the meals help families who struggle with rising prices and unpredictable income.

The program has made a real difference for many families who are trying to keep up with food costs.

Some parents echo that relief. One breastfeeding mother, Rohmani, described the reassurance she felt when several of her children began receiving meals at school.

I feel reassured knowing I can provide adequate nutrition to my baby, and my other children also get meals at school.

Other families are now wary. After her daughter’s ordeal, Nabila’s mother said she can no longer support the policy until safety is guaranteed.

We are talking about children’s lives. I do not want other parents and their children to go through anything like this.

What would make school meals safe and trusted

Food safety is a chain. It is only as strong as its weakest link. Large programs succeed when they impose simple, verifiable rules at every step and back them with training, equipment, and daily checks. Many of the failures observed in recent outbreaks relate to time and temperature control, sanitation, and logistics, all of which can be addressed with well known practices. A practical package of reforms can turn the program into what it set out to be, a reliable source of nutrition that parents trust.

• Certify every kitchen before it serves a single meal, with periodic recertification and surprise inspections.
• Limit the number of students per kitchen and shorten delivery routes so meals arrive within two hours of cooking.
• Use food grade containers and insulated carriers. Keep hot food above 60 degrees Celsius or serve it cold below 5 degrees Celsius.
• Ban risky items in mass meals, such as dishes that require complex handling or perishable sauces with short safe windows.
• Train all staff in hand washing, cross contamination prevention, and cleaning with safe water and detergents.
• Set strict procurement windows for fresh ingredients. Store protein and dairy in working refrigerators with temperature logs.
• Adopt a simple hazard control plan in every kitchen, with checklists for cooking temperatures and holding times for each menu.
• Create a centralized dashboard to record kitchen conditions, delivery times, and reported illnesses, with access for local health offices and schools.
• Empower school committees and parent groups to monitor deliveries, taste test at arrival, and report concerns quickly through a hotline.
• Publish incident reports and corrective actions so communities can see what went wrong and how it was fixed.

International lessons and nutrition basics

Countries with long experience in school feeding often rely on certified centralized kitchens for urban areas, community based cooking for smaller schools, and strong local oversight. They place simple rules at the center of operations, like temperature checks for every batch, and give parents a role in monitoring. They also align menus with local agriculture so ingredients are fresh and supply chains are short. These are practical steps that can help reduce risk at scale. Indonesia can tailor such approaches to its geography by decentralizing in remote districts and clustering schools near certified urban kitchens where logistics permit.

Nutrition goals remain the heart of this policy. A typical school lunch should include a source of protein such as eggs, chicken, fish, tofu or tempeh, along with vegetables, fruit, and a staple like rice. Iron rich foods help prevent anemia, which is common in adolescents. Safe oils and limited sugar help prevent long term health problems. Programs should avoid ultraprocessed items that are calorie dense but poor in nutrients. They should also steer clear of fish species that carry mercury risks for children. When kitchens buy from local farmers and markets, meals are fresher and communities benefit. None of this matters unless food is safe on the day it is cooked and served, which is why the focus on hygiene, timing, and oversight is non negotiable.

Key Points

• Thousands of Indonesian students have fallen ill after eating free school meals this year, with large clusters in West Java and other provinces.
• Official counts range from about 6,500 to more than 9,000 cases through September, while civil monitors report totals above 10,000 and rising.
• Common causes include late delivery of cooked food, poor storage, and sanitation lapses in new or overstretched kitchens.
• The program aims to serve up to 83 million people and expand to around 32,000 kitchens, backed by a large national budget.
• President Prabowo defends the program as beneficial, saying the share of illnesses is small compared with meals served.
• Authorities have suspended kitchens, retrained staff, and drafted stricter food safety rules, with a stated goal of zero incidents.
• Lawmakers pressed for faster certification and fewer students per kitchen to make quality control possible.
• Anti corruption groups warn of weak transparency and oversight in a program with one of the largest budgets in the country.
• Parents are divided, with some praising relief from food costs and others calling for a pause until safety is guaranteed.
• Experts recommend certified kitchens, tighter time and temperature controls, community oversight, and public reporting to restore trust.