Are Indonesia’s Free School Meals Really Worth It?
Food poisonings, poor coordination and some fussy kids are casting a shadow on Indonesia’s $15 billion free-meal program.
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Welcome to the Business of Food newsletter, covering how the world feeds itself in a changing economy and climate. This week, Eko Listiyorini and Rosalind Mathieson report on Indonesia’s costly school meal program. Any tips or feedback? Email Agnieszka de Sousa. And if you aren’t yet signed up to receive this newsletter, please do so here.
It’s a weekday morning in Indonesia’s Timor and elementary school children race to their classrooms, eager to find out what’s inside the stainless steel containers sitting on their desks. They quickly clock cooked green beans and the eye-rolling starts. One pokes out his tongue at a friend and pretends to gag.