"The President-elect's Free Nutritious Meal priority program is to create smart children and a multiplier effect for regional economies," she said at the 2025 State Budget Bill (RAPBN) press conference here on Friday.
She explained that the program can empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so that they drive the regional economy.
The Financial Memorandum of the 2025 Fiscal Year stipulates that the program has been designed to realize quality and competitive human resources.
The free healthy meal program involves providing nutritious meals and free milk to the students of schools and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), as well as nutritious feeding assistance to toddlers as well as pregnant and lactating women whose children are at risk of becoming stunted.
In addition to boosting children's nutrition, the program is expected to encourage students' attendance at schools and improve the quality of learning, thereby reducing cases of school dropouts.
The program is also expected to boost students' health and academic achievement.
The program will also involve local MSMEs as meal providers or as public kitchens.
The program has a backward and forward linkage that will encourage economic growth and labor absorption through the empowerment of MSMEs.
The draft budget allocation for the free meal program for 2025 is around Rp71 trillion, or 0.29 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). It will cover food costs, distribution, safeguarding, and management.
Around 0.82 million workers are expected to be absorbed in the program's implementation.
With this figure, the Free Nutritious Meal program is expected to increase Indonesia's economic growth by around 0.10 percent in 2025.
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Translator: Imamatul S, Kenzu
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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