Mass food poisoning strikes Indonesia's free school meals program

In the span of three days, roughly two thousand students and teachers across Indonesia became sick after eating meals provided by the government's free school lunch program. The illnesses struck multiple schools in different regions, each outbreak sudden and severe enough to send dozens to hospitals and force entire institutions to close their doors.

The largest single incident happened at a high school in Lasem, a town in Central Java. On Wednesday at lunchtime, seven hundred fifty-two students and twenty-five teachers who had eaten meals from the Makan Bergizi Gratis program—which translates to Free Nutritious Meals—developed symptoms of food poisoning. The headteacher, Juhartutik, described the scene to BBC News Indonesia with a specificity that conveyed the scale of the crisis: the school's forty toilets could not accommodate everyone who needed them. Students experienced severe diarrhea, taking turns waiting in line. The school eventually sent home nearly twelve hundred pupils and ninety-five staff members. Several people required hospital care.

Juhartutik said the government had committed to covering medical expenses and that the local food distributor had appeared at the school to acknowledge responsibility. But the Lasem outbreak was not isolated. The day before, at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, seven hundred thirty people fell ill after consuming the same program's meals. A parent told reporters that their child felt dizzy and nauseous, then developed stomach problems. Some students became so weak they could not walk and had to be transported to hospitals in wheelchairs. Hundreds more fell ill at schools across Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi during the same period.

The Makan Bergizi Gratis program is a multibillion-dollar initiative and one of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship policies, designed to improve nutrition among Indonesia's schoolchildren. But the mass poisonings have intensified scrutiny of a scheme already shadowed by allegations of corruption and questions about its cost. Parents and teachers reported finding slimy chicken in the meals, food that appeared undercooked, and dishes with a fishy smell. The descriptions suggested not just contamination but carelessness in preparation and storage.

Achmad Sholeh Syarifudin, who heads the food distribution unit in Lasem, issued an apology and said he took full responsibility for the recovery of affected students and teachers. He announced that the unit would conduct a comprehensive review of its operations. Local health authorities began testing food samples to identify the source of contamination. The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating that if negligence or criminal conduct were found, the agency could not excuse it—a warning that suggested potential legal consequences for those responsible.

What remains unclear is whether these outbreaks stem from a single systemic failure in the program's supply chain or from isolated lapses at particular distribution points. Improper storage and poorly prepared food are common culprits in mass poisoning cases, but the simultaneous nature of the incidents across different regions raises questions about whether the problem runs deeper. Authorities are still investigating, and the results of the food sample testing will likely determine whether charges are filed and what reforms, if any, the program undergoes.