Indonesian Government Free Lunch Program

Indonesian Government Free Lunch Program

By : Agnes Adonnara
Accepted Date : 21 February 2025

    Good nutrition is the foundation for children's growth and development and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Indonesia ranks 27th out of 154 countries for stunting cases or what we commonly call malnutrition. This is the basis for the government to provide a free lunch program from the government to be a real step to ensure all Indonesian children from elementary school to high school to get the nutrition they need. Therefore, I believe that by the free lunch program we understand that lunch is not just a time to fill the stomach but also hats an important role to improve children's learning concentration and meet their nutritional needs and save the financial expenses of all Indonesian families.

    First of all, the Faculty of Medicine of Unair has researched that children who regularly have lunch with balanced nutrition have better concentration levels. The WHO also observed that children who attend school for a full day, especially during the daytime, have long hours that can reduce one of the important nutrients, namely glucose or what we commonly know as blood sugar levels, which is the main source of energy for the brain. So the lack of glucose can reduce the level of concentration which has an impact on academic performance therefore a balanced lunch can keep blood sugar stable to prevent fatigue while concentrating.

    Secondly, the Indonesian government will complete all nutrition through a free lunch program managed by the national nutrition agency (BGN). However, each region has different food sources, so the government will utilize local resources that will be supervised by the national nutrition agency to ensure that each meal in each region meets the nutritional standards needed by children. For example, in the city of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The area is located on a large land area adjacent to a large river so the national nutrition agency can utilize fish and poultry to meet the protein standards.

    And finally, with free lunches, all Indonesian families can significantly ease their financial burden. Because parents no longer need to prepare lunch, saving daily expenses. The saved funds can be used for other more pressing needs such as education, health, or other household needs. And also with children who already feel fulfilled hunger can reduce the feeling to buy carelessly meal which is not guaranteed nutrition and cleanliness so that it also saves shopping money given. And based on the average pocket money given to children they get as much as 20-30 thousand per day, and if they save some of the money such as 10-15 thousand, then our children can save 200-300 thousand per month. And this is a good thing because it provides an opportunity to save which has a big impact on preparing for their future.

    So that with the presence of a free lunch program from the government, all Indonesian families can have good benefits from helping to improve concentration while studying, meet their nutritional needs, and saving daily expenses for more urgent matters even for the future of their children.