JAKARTA: Dewi could only let out a long sigh and watch in silence as a white van pulled up to the elementary school just down the road from her house in the southern outskirts of Jakarta, delivering packed lunch for some 300 students as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s free meals initiative.
As workers unloaded dozens of steel food containers packed with rice, vegetables and chicken nuggets, the 50-year-old – who has been running a small catering business from the lower half of her modest two-storey house for the last two decades – could not help feeling a little bit jealous and disappointed.
“Prabowo promised the (free meals) programme would not only improve children’s health but also benefit SMEs (small and medium enterprises) like mine,” Dewi, who asked CNA not to reveal her full name, said. “But the way this programme has been implemented, it will only benefit big players with money.”
Before the free meals programme was rolled out on Jan 6, Dewi tried applying with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to be one of its partnering kitchens.
But the requirements set by the agency, formed in August last year specifically to oversee the programme, was well beyond her reach.
Her kitchen was spotless and well-ventilated. But to qualify, Dewi said that she would need to tear out her ceramic counters and replace them with stainless steel tables.
Wooden shelves that line the kitchen would have to go, replaced by industrial-grade cabinetry. The floor, too, would need a makeover as the agency requires it to be coated in glossy, seamless epoxy.
And then came the final, crushing condition: Her kitchen needs to be big enough to prepare a minimum of 3,500 meals a day. For a caterer specialising in small weddings and gatherings, Dewi would need to expand her kitchen to at least three times its current size.
“I estimated that I would need 300 to 500 million rupiah (US$18,000 to US$30,000) to make the necessary changes. I don’t have that kind of money,” she said.
The free meals initiative has been Prabowo’s signature programme, enabling him to secure last year’s presidential election by a landslide. It hopes to provide one meal daily to around 83 million children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-free-meals-programme-prabowo-subianto-small-firms-economic-growth-jobs-5217856
