More than 1,000 children in Indonesia’s West Java province have fallen ill this week after consuming free school lunches, marking the latest in a troubling series of mass food poisoning incidents linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship nutritious meals program. The outbreak, which began on Monday and continued through Wednesday, has cast a harsh spotlight on the ambitious and costly initiative, raising urgent questions about food safety, oversight, and the political stakes of one of the world’s most expensive school feeding schemes.
According to BBC News and Reuters, the number of poisoning victims in West Java reached 1,258 by midweek, as confirmed by Yuyun Sarihotima, head of the Cipongkor Community Health Center. The cases were reported across four areas of the province, with Cipongkor emerging as the epicenter. This latest crisis follows closely on the heels of another outbreak just last week, which sickened 800 students in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces.
Victims of the recent outbreaks complained of stomach aches, dizziness, and nausea—classic symptoms of food poisoning—alongside shortness of breath, a less typical but widely reported symptom in these cases. Many students required immediate medical attention and hospitalization, overwhelming local health centers and prompting swift action from authorities. Meals served to students included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit, the BBC reported. In past incidents, expired sauces and even fried shark have been cited as the culprit, highlighting persistent lapses in food preparation and procurement.
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) attributed the mass poisoning in Cipongkor to a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), whose operations in the area have since been suspended. Dadan Hindayana, head of the BGN, explained that the suspension was necessary to prevent further harm, while Jeje Ritchie Ismail, the West Bandung regent, declared the incident an "extraordinary event so that handling can be faster and more comprehensive." Despite these measures, the sheer scale of the outbreak has intensified scrutiny of the program’s management and safety protocols.
The numbers are staggering and point to systemic issues. From January 1 through September 22, 2025, the National Narcotics Agency recorded 4,711 cases of free school lunch poisoning, with most occurring on Java island. However, the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), an NGO, reported an even higher figure—6,452 affected children—by September 21. These statistics, reported by both BBC News and Reuters, represent a catastrophic failure in food safety across a program that currently serves 550,000 students in 26 provinces.
The free meals initiative, launched in January 2025 as a centerpiece of President Prabowo’s administration, is one of the most expensive of its kind globally. With a staggering $28 billion budget, the program aims to serve 80 million children by year’s end and is set to double its funding in 2026. For comparison, India’s school feeding program, the world’s largest, serves 120 million children annually at a cost of just $1.5 billion, while Brazil’s program costs about the same for 40 million students. This dramatic cost difference has prompted questions about efficiency, value for money, and the integrity of Indonesia’s implementation.
Non-governmental organizations and education monitoring groups have responded to the crisis with calls for immediate action. The JPPI’s national coordinator, Ubaid Matraji, urged the government to "declare an outbreak and temporarily halt the programme for a thorough evaluation." Some critics have proposed redirecting funds directly to parents, allowing families to prepare meals for their children, rather than relying on centralized food preparation. However, as reported by BBC News, the BGN has rejected this alternative, and government officials have insisted that the program will continue. On Wednesday, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar stated, "there are no plans to stop it."
The controversy extends beyond health and safety. Experts warn that the program’s massive budget creates ample opportunity for corruption, a longstanding problem in Indonesia’s large-scale social assistance schemes. Muhammad Rafi Bakri, a research analyst at Indonesia’s audit board, told the BBC, "Given the sheer size of the budget, this programme is a goldmine for corrupt officials." The potential for graft, combined with repeated food safety failures, has fueled public skepticism and heated anti-government protests.
For President Prabowo, the free meals program is not just a policy—it is the cornerstone of a broader populist agenda that helped him secure an 80% approval rating after his first 100 days in office. The initiative was pitched as a bold solution to combat malnutrition and stunting, which affects about one-fifth of Indonesian children under five. "Through this initiative, our children will grow taller and emerge as champions," Prabowo declared in 2023, framing the program as a transformative investment in Indonesia’s future.
Yet, as the mass poisoning incidents pile up, critics are questioning both the urgency and the execution of the program. Maria Monica Wihardja, a visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, noted that national surveys indicate less than 1% of Indonesian households went without meals for even a day in the past year—raising doubts about the necessity of such a sweeping intervention. "There has been no evidence of widespread urgency for free school meals," she told BBC News.
Supporters of the program argue that its lofty goals—improving child health, boosting academic performance, and reducing inequality—remain vital. They point to global evidence that well-run school feeding programs can yield significant benefits, from better attendance to improved learning outcomes. Defenders also note that the program’s funding is already secured in the 2026 State Budget, and that suspending it now could undermine progress against child malnutrition.
Still, the recent outbreaks have exposed deep flaws in oversight and accountability, underscoring the challenges of scaling up such an ambitious initiative in a country as vast and diverse as Indonesia. The government faces mounting pressure to restore public trust, tighten safety protocols, and ensure that the program delivers on its promise without endangering the very children it seeks to help.
As Indonesia grapples with the fallout from this week’s mass poisoning, the fate of President Prabowo’s signature program hangs in the balance. The coming months will test not only the administration’s commitment to child welfare, but also its ability to manage risk, root out corruption, and deliver on the grand promises that swept it into power.
