School-feeding program launched

School-feeding program launched

The government launched on Tuesday the Indonesian School
Feeding Conference in a bid to improve the education and
nutrition of students attending state and Islamic-run elementary
schools.

Supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
program includes the distribution of free milk, wheat biscuits,
noodle snacks and soy milk to about 900,000 students in five
provinces in Java, West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Lampung, Bali, Lombok
and South Sulawesi.

As part of the feeding program, the School Milk program was
initiated in 1999 and carried out by Bina Putra Sejahtera
Foundation, dairy company Ultrajaya and packaging company Tetra
Pak as a model for the U.S.'s Global Food for Education program.

"The program has been running well, so the USDA decided to
continue the program for another two years," the foundation's
chairwoman, Roosminnie Emil Salim, told a media conference.

In a ceremony presided over by Coordinating Minister of
Peoples' Welfare Jusuf Kalla, six elementary students were
awarded for winning a school milk poster competition. The trophy
went to fourth-grade student Ondy Surya Piramida. -- JP