Indonesia’s ambitious free meals programme has left hundreds of private investors struggling with mounting debts after government payments for kitchens built in remote areas were delayed, altered or put on hold.
The initiative, a flagship programme of President Prabowo Subianto, aims to provide free meals to 83 million Indonesians, including schoolchildren as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. To build the infrastructure required for the massive programme, private investors were encouraged to establish kitchens in remote and underserved communities.
Among them is a kitchen built above the waters of Tomini Bay in Torosiaje, a remote fishing village in Indonesia’s Gorontalo province. The facility cost around 1.8 billion rupiah (US$100,000) to build, with 34-year-old lawyer Sigit Buludawa using his savings and loans from unlicensed lenders to fund the project.
Sigit said the financial pressure has become overwhelming as the expected reimbursement has yet to arrive. Although his kitchen underwent government inspection in February, he has still not received payment, while interest on his 1 billion rupiah debt continues to accumulate.
He is among at least 400 investors who borrowed money to construct more than 1,500 kitchens in remote parts of Indonesia, according to interviews, public documents and government contracts reviewed by Reuters. Their financial difficulties emerged after the government changed its reimbursement arrangements as it attempted to bring down the cost of the free meals programme.
Herwil Junaidi Harefa, head of the Food and Nutrition Association for Remote, Frontier and Outlying Areas, said around 700 kitchens have official government contracts that guarantee repayment. A further 800 kitchens have been completed but are still awaiting final government inspections.
The financial strain has left many operators struggling to repay loans used to construct their facilities. Herwil said some owners have already had equipment repossessed by banks or lenders. He is also carrying around 8 billion rupiah in debt after establishing several kitchens.
The difficulties faced by investors add to the wider challenges surrounding the free meals initiative. Since its launch last year, the programme has faced concerns over governance, supply chain problems, food poisoning incidents and repeated budget cuts. In some remote communities, kitchens remain unused while families continue waiting for the promised meals.
Indonesia’s vast geography has made the programme particularly challenging to implement. The country consists of around 17,000 islands and has the world’s fourth-largest population, meaning reaching isolated communities can involve lengthy and difficult journeys.
Torosiaje, for example, is home to the seafaring Bajo community, where stilt houses are connected by narrow walkways. Travelling there involves several hours on the road followed by a boat journey of around 10 minutes. The kitchen was intended to serve approximately 400 schoolchildren, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Sigit said he does not know when he will recover his investment or what will happen to the unused facility, which is equipped with stoves, refrigerators and hundreds of serving trays.
Another investor, Zaenuri Mustofa, built a kitchen in Sandalan, another remote village in Gorontalo. He has accumulated around 700 million rupiah in debt and still owes money to contractors. The experience has left him reluctant to take on another similar project.
The National Nutrition Agency, or NNA, introduced the investment scheme last year to speed up kitchen construction in remote and underdeveloped areas, particularly locations with high levels of child stunting and limited access to food.
Under the original technical guidelines issued in October 2025, investors were promised full reimbursement of construction costs, along with an additional return of at least 100% of their initial investment through incentives and rental payments over four years. NNA officials also told investors that reimbursement would be made within 35 to 45 days after government assessments.
The programme eventually grew to nearly 28,000 kitchens, with another 13,000 planned. Prabowo promoted the programme at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, saying its reach could soon surpass that of McDonald’s in terms of the number of people served globally.
However, the government later reduced the programme’s budget from 335 trillion rupiah to 268 trillion rupiah as it sought to create additional fiscal space following the Iran war.
Payment arrangements were subsequently changed. In March, the NNA introduced a system in which 60% would be paid after construction, with the remainder released in two instalments after certain requirements were fulfilled. By May, the system had been revised again, with daily incentives to be paid over two years, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
The programme faced another setback in June when authorities raided NNA offices. Agency chief Dadan Hindayana was dismissed and arrested, while the new management introduced efficiency measures and froze plans for 13,000 additional kitchens.
The programme’s budget was later cut further to 229 trillion rupiah.
Four kitchen owners also told Reuters that they lost access to a dedicated online portal after Dadan’s arrest. The platform contained important documents including their contracts, appointment letters and virtual account numbers linked to government repayments.
Uncertainty has continued following further changes in the agency’s leadership. Dadan’s successor resigned suddenly last month, while newly appointed NNA chief Sudaryono has met with some kitchen operators and promised to find a solution, although details of how the government intends to resolve the outstanding payments remain unclear.
The NNA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Ubaid Matraji, head of the education NGO Network for Education Watch, said the problems highlighted weaknesses in the programme’s budget management and its handling of private-sector involvement.
He also argued that the programme had placed too much emphasis on major cities such as Jakarta, despite urban areas generally having better access to food and nutrition than isolated communities.
For residents of places such as Torosiaje and Sandalan, the programme could make a significant difference. Many families in these remote areas depend on farming corn, coconuts and papayas, with household incomes often at around US$100 a month or less.
BaiqSriyono, a mother of a five-year-old child in Sandalan, said villagers were disappointed by the delays and wanted to know when the programme would finally begin.
For now, investors are left waiting for payments while unused kitchens sit idle and debts continue to grow. At the same time, families in some of Indonesia’s most remote communities remain hopeful that the promised free meals will eventually reach their children.
