More than 300 ill in Indonesia after eating free school lunches

In Indonesia, more than 300 people have fallen ill after eating free school lunches provided by the government. This incident happened in Sragen, a town in central Java, and is the largest case of food poisoning since President Prabowo Subianto started his free meals program. The program was created to help fight stunting among children and to make sure students get enough nutrition. However, after 365 people got sick, the free meals have been stopped in Sragen while officials test the food for contamination. The meals included turmeric rice, scrambled eggs, fried tempeh, cucumber salad, and milk, all prepared in a central kitchen and sent to several schools.

Students who ate the meals reported stomach pain, headaches, and diarrhea. One student, Wizdan Ridho Abimanyu, said he woke up in the middle of the night with sharp stomach pain and later saw his friends posting about similar symptoms online. The government has promised to pay for any medical costs for those affected. Local leaders said they cannot be sure what caused the sickness yet, but they believe the free meals program needs to be safer and cleaner. Since the program started in January, more than 1,000 people across Indonesia have gotten sick from the school lunches.

The free meals program is very expensive, costing about $28 billion. To pay for it, President Prabowo ordered $19 billion in budget cuts from other government departments. Some ministries had their budgets cut in half, and workers said they had to save money by using less air conditioning and printers. These cuts have led to protests, with thousands of people marching in the streets. Some protest signs said, 'Children eat for free, parents are laid off. ' Despite the problems, President Prabowo defended the program in his State of the National Address. He said the free meals and other social programs will help Indonesia become a country free from poverty and hunger. The government is now working to make sure the food is safe and to prevent more people from getting sick.