Almost 2,000 people fall ill after eating free school meals
Almost 2,000 students and teachers across Indonesia have been struck down with illness this month, with investigators believing the sickness may be linked to the country’s Free Nutritious Meals program.
In early 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto introduced free lunches, designed for high school and vocational students to access healthy, nutritious food during the day.
The implementation sees meals being prepared in dedicated hubs and distributed to local schools, rather than cooks dishing up food to tackle malnutrition at their institutions.
Food poisoning reports have plagued the initiative, known in Indonesia as MBG, since its launch; the latest has led to around 1,950 people becoming sick in the early days of September 2026, according to the Associated Press.
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The Associated Press stated that outbreaks linked to the flagship free school meals program, which also feeds toddlers and pregnant women, were reported across multiple provinces between 1 and 3 September.
Cases were reported in East Java, West Sumatra, Aceh, South Sulawesi and Central Java, the outlet stated.
752 students and 25 teachers at State Senior High School 1 Lasem in Central Java have suffered food poisoning symptoms, Rembang Health Office head Ali Syofi’i told the publication.
These symptoms, including diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, were also found in students at the Manbaul Hikam Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, the Associated Press said.
"They had diarrhoea and took turns using the toilet," the headteacher told BBC News Indonesia. "There are 40 toilets in total, so they can't accommodate everyone.”
It’s understood that 730 individuals fell ill after consuming dishes part of the MBG program.
Lakhsmie Herawati Yuwantina, Sidoarjo health office chief, said the large majority of victims (706) were recovering from illness at home.
The head of the food distribution unit in Lasem, Achmad Sholeh Syarifudin, has since taken ‘full responsibility for the recovery of students and teachers’, as per the BBC.
He said the unit would conduct a ‘comprehensive evaluation of its operation following the incident’.
Meanwhile, 152 people in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, have also been struck down by illness.
There are 276 suspected cases, involving both students and their teachers in West Sumatra’s Agam Regency, the Associated Press said.
Other instances of potential food poisoning include a group of young school kids and a principal who ‘became nauseous and dizzy’ after a meal in the Aceh province’s Bener Meriah regency.
No deaths have been reported; authorities are investigating the causes of the outbreaks.
The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency told the BBC: "If it is identified that there was negligence and there are criminal elements, I apologise, we cannot help.”
According to Health Ministry surveillance data (as of 2 September), food poisoning incidents associated with MBG have affected 50,059 people in 560 cases across 245 districts and cities in 36 provinces.
It’s understood that 80 to 90 percent of previous food poisoning incidents have been linked to failures to follow food safety procedures.
This includes, but is not limited to, rules governing food storage, receipt of ingredients, temperature control and consumption deadlines, as per ABC News.
Ella Scott