Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto announced the Free Nutritious Meal Program in front of labor leaders. He stated that this program could serve as an additional welfare benefit for workers.
The program will be aimed directly at the families of workers, from children to pregnant women if applicable.
“I also mentioned to the labor leaders and representatives that our programs, including nutritious meals for children and pregnant women, can be seen as an additional welfare benefit. Because workers have families and children,” emphasized Prabowo during an official statement at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Friday (November 29, 2024).
Prabowo revealed that each portion of the Free Nutritious Meal will be set at Rp 10,000. Initially, he aimed for Rp 15,000 per portion, but the budget turned out to be insufficient.
“On average, we want to provide Rp 10,000 per child or per pregnant woman per day. We wanted Rp 15,000, but due to budget constraints, maybe Rp 10,000 will suffice. We have calculated that for the regions, this amount will be enough and nutritious,” said Prabowo.
Prabowo explained that in areas where families benefiting from the Free Nutritious Meal Program typically have 3-4 children, each family could receive Rp 30,000 worth of nutritious food. Over a month, this would amount to Rp 2.7 million.
“Let’s say that in lower-income households, we estimate they have 3-4 children, so each family could receive at least Rp 30,000 per day. If we calculate this for a month, it could total Rp 2.7 million,” explained Prabowo.
Prabowo added that when combined with other social assistance and allowances, he is confident the government can secure all segments of society, including the worker group.
“I believe this is already quite optimized at this point. Of course, we want to improve it in the future,” said Prabowo.