More Than 1,700 Fall Ill After Indonesia’s Free School Meals

More than 1,700 students and teachers have fallen ill in several Indonesian locations after eating government-provided free meals, with the latest outbreak affecting 725 students and 25 teachers at a school in Central Java. Authorities are investigating suspected food-safety failures, while a lawmaker says the wider programme has been linked to about 50,000 food-poisoning cases since its launch. The incidents are putting pressure on President Prabowo Subianto's government to strengthen safety standards without undermining a programme designed to tackle child malnutrition.

More than 1,700 students and teachers in Indonesia have fallen ill in a series of suspected food-poisoning incidents linked to the government’s free school meals programme, raising fresh concerns about food safety and the management of one of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship policies.
The latest outbreak occurred in Central Java, where hundreds of students and teachers developed diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea after eating meals supplied under the programme. The incidents have renewed criticism of a scheme designed to improve nutrition among millions of Indonesians but which has repeatedly faced food-safety problems.

HUNDREDS FALL SICK AT CENTRAL JAVA SCHOOL

At SMAN 1 Lasem in Rembang, Central Java, 725 students and 25 teachers became ill on Thursday morning, a day after eating the government-provided meal.
The school’s principal, Juhartutik, said many victims experienced diarrhoea and vomiting. The number of people needing toilets at the same time became so large that the school’s facilities struggled to cope, with some toilets already closed for renovation.
The school was eventually forced to stop normal activities and send students home while authorities arranged medical assistance. At least 15 students and teachers were hospitalised, according to a local doctor.
SUSPICIONS OVER THE FOOD
The meal served at the school included grilled chicken. According to the principal, a food taster noticed that some of the chicken appeared "slimy" before it was distributed.
The questionable portions were reportedly removed, but the incident has raised questions about how the food was prepared, stored and transported.
The kitchen operator reportedly said the chicken had been cooked at about 3 a.m. and was not eaten until around noon. Such a long period between preparation and consumption can increase food-safety risks if meals are not properly stored and kept at safe temperatures.

OTHER OUTBREAKS REPORTED

The Lasem incident was not an isolated case.
On Tuesday, 664 students in Sidoarjo, East Java, became ill after eating meals provided through the same programme. Some victims required hospital treatment, and the kitchen suspected of supplying the meals was suspended while investigations continued.
Another 49 people became ill in Nganjuk, East Java, while 237 cases were reported in Agam, West Sumatra, according to lawmaker Charles Honoris, who cited local health department data. Together, these incidents pushed the number of people affected during the week above 1,700.

PROGRAMME HAS FACED REPEATED FOOD-SAFETY PROBLEMS

The latest outbreaks add to a much larger food-safety problem surrounding Indonesia’s free meals programme.
Charles Honoris said health department data showed that about 50,000 people had been affected by food-poisoning cases linked to the programme as of September 1.
The figure was presented by a lawmaker and has not been independently verified as a consolidated national total. However, earlier research had already documented hundreds of outbreaks involving more than 20,000 schoolchildren by the end of 2025, showing that food safety has been a problem since the programme began.

A PROGRAMME DESIGNED TO FIGHT MALNUTRITION

President Prabowo launched the free nutritious meals programme to tackle child malnutrition and improve the health and development of children across Indonesia.
The government has committed billions of dollars to the initiative, which is intended to provide nutritious meals to tens of millions of beneficiaries.
For many families, the programme is more than simply a free lunch. It is intended to reduce the financial burden of feeding children and ensure that pupils receive at least one nutritious meal during the school day.
That makes the repeated poisoning incidents particularly troubling for parents who depend on the government to provide safe food for their children.

LAWMAKER CALLS IT A SYSTEM FAILURE

Charles Honoris said the repeated incidents should not be dismissed as isolated mistakes.
"This is a failure of the system," he said, arguing that the scale and frequency of the outbreaks point to weaknesses in the way the programme is being managed.
Concerns have included food being stored improperly, meals arriving late and kitchens failing to meet required standards.

AUTHORITIES UNDER PRESSURE TO ACT

The National Nutrition Agency, which oversees the programme, has come under increasing pressure to strengthen food-safety controls.
Following the Sidoarjo outbreak, the kitchen linked to the incident was suspended for 30 days while investigations were conducted. Officials have also indicated that kitchens failing to meet standards could face closure.
At Lasem, the local meal provider apologised to students, parents and the school and said it would review its procedures. It also said medical treatment for victims would be provided without charging them.

PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IS ALSO AT RISK

The food-poisoning outbreaks are becoming a major challenge for public confidence in the programme.
A survey conducted in July found that only about one-third of Indonesians were satisfied with the scheme, with food-poisoning incidents among the reasons for dissatisfaction.
The government therefore faces a difficult balance: expanding a programme intended to improve children's nutrition while ensuring that the food being provided does not put those same children at risk.

THE HUMAN COST

Behind the statistics are children who suddenly became sick while at school, teachers who were affected alongside their pupils and parents who had to deal with the fear of seeing their children rushed for medical attention.
At Lasem, the sheer number of pupils suffering diarrhoea at the same time overwhelmed school toilets and disrupted the entire school day.
For parents, the central issue is simple: a meal intended to keep their children healthy should not become a source of illness.

A TEST FOR PRESIDENT PRABOWO'S GOVERNMENT

The free meals programme is one of President Prabowo's most prominent policies, making the latest outbreaks a political as well as a public-health challenge.
The government must now demonstrate that it can improve food preparation, storage, transportation and monitoring as the programme continues to expand.
The success of the initiative will ultimately depend not only on how many meals are delivered, but on whether those meals are safe, nutritious and reliably delivered to the children who need them.