Undip allocates Rp6 billion annually for free lunches
Semarang (ANTARA) - Universitas Diponegoro (Undip) in Semarang allocates a budget of around Rp6 billion each year to provide free lunches for students in need through the Undip Food Truck programme.
“When we talk about Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) today, Universitas Diponegoro has actually been implementing it since 2022 through the Undip Food Truck programme,” said Undip Rector Prof Suharnomo in Semarang on Saturday.
According to him, the programme represents Undip’s commitment to fulfilling students’ nutritional needs, particularly targeting those requiring economic support.
With good production capacity, he said, the Undip Food Truck kitchen provides around 1,850 portions of lunch each day, accumulating to about 450,000 food packages annually.
“This initiative is a form of campus care in providing healthy food, which is hoped to encourage the productivity and learning enthusiasm of students in need,” he said.
Kristi Febi Nugrahaningrum, Manager of Jasa Boga Aroemanis Catering from PT Undip Maju, as the campus’s internal catering service unit, ensures that the entire processing chain is carried out with high hygienic standards.
“Our kitchen operates from Sunday to Thursday. The entire professional team is directly involved from the processing, selection of raw materials, to menu composition that meets healthy and nutritious standards,” she said.
The cooking process is carried out in several stages by experienced chefs, and the menu composition is also maintained to always include vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates to meet students’ nutritional needs.
Edy Surahmad, Director of Student Affairs and Alumni at Undip, said that quality supervision and distribution aspects are also a primary focus in ensuring the programme’s effectiveness.
“We from the Directorate of Student Affairs and Alumni continuously monitor the nutritional composition in the Food Truck. This is important so that students receive balanced intake to support their academic activities,” he said.
He said the distribution of free lunches is carried out through a ticket system that Undip students can obtain via SSO, their personal academic accounts.
“Every student has an SSO account. They can directly access ticketing there. So, besides Undip students, others cannot. This is also to prevent crowds,” he said.
In addition to being implemented at Undip’s main campus in Tembalang and Pleburan, the Food Truck is also run at Undip campuses in Pekalongan, Jepara, Rembang, and Batang.
The programme also provides opportunities for students to get additional jobs, as experienced by Amanda Herbudiarti and Yonathan Gutom Prayoga who are involved as field crew.