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