Untag Surabaya Students Provide Milkfish Noodle Training in Gumeng Village

There is always something that catches my attention when traversing the coastal villages of Java’s north coast: abundance standing side by side with limitation. Fishponds stretch wide, brackish water flows calmly, and every morning fishermen return with bountiful catches. Yet behind this seemingly prosperous view, a problem often lies hidden: the abundance of natural resources does not always translate directly into the welfare of the community. Desa Gumeng, located in Bungah District, Gresik Regency, is a real portrait of this situation. Milkfish is a commodity closely tied to the village’s identity. Milkfish ponds span the area, and their harvest is one of the main sources of livelihood for the residents. However, ironically, this great potential has for years only been utilised in the same limited ways: sold raw, smoked, or simply fried. The added value that could be extracted from these pond products has largely remained untapped by innovation. The issue at hand is not a scarcity of resources, but rather how these abundant resources are processed, developed, and ultimately provide broader benefits to the community. A community service activity titled ‘Training on Making Milkfish Noodles as an Innovation for Nutritious and Economically Valuable Food Products’ was held from 6 to 17 July 2026 in Desa Gumeng. This initiative was conceived by student Nur Afni Latansya under the guidance of Field Supervisor Dia Puspitasari, S.Sos., M.Si., M.Ikom, in collaboration with PKK POKJA 3 Desa Gumeng. At first glance, this appears to be a simple culinary training session. However, upon deeper examination, the activity touches on a far more fundamental issue: how local potential can be transformed into a solution for nutritional, economic, and women’s empowerment problems at the village level. When discussing milkfish, we are essentially talking about one of the best sources of animal protein available to coastal communities in Indonesia. This fish is rich in omega-3, protein, calcium, and various essential minerals needed by the body, particularly for supporting children’s growth and development. Unfortunately, this great nutritional potential is often not matched by adequate consumption levels, especially among children. Two classic problems always arise: the troublesome bones and the fishy smell that often makes children reluctant to eat it. This phenomenon is not just an ordinary household complaint. It is closely related to the overall nutritional consumption patterns of the community. When a protein source that is actually abundantly available in the surrounding environment is not optimally consumed due to such technical obstacles, a waste of potential occurs. In fact, if traced further, the root of many nutritional problems in coastal areas is not the absence of nutritious foodstuffs, but rather how these foodstuffs are processed to be more easily accepted, especially by children as the group most vulnerable to nutritional issues. This is where the relevance of the milkfish noodle innovation becomes strongly felt. By processing milkfish meat into noodle dough, two main problems are solved at once: the bones, which are usually a scourge when eating milkfish, disappear completely because the meat has been ground, while the fishy smell can be minimised through proper processing techniques and the addition of appropriate spices. The resulting product is also much more palatable for children, without reducing the nutritional content it contains. This is not merely a culinary trick, but a smart strategy to bridge the gap between the availability of nutritious food and its consumption rate in the community. We cannot discuss nutritional issues in coastal communities without touching on the problem of stunting, which remains a major national challenge. Stunting is not solely a matter of insufficient food intake, but is more often caused by inappropriate nutritional intake during the golden period of a child’s growth and development. Many parents in villages actually have access to nutritious foodstuffs like fish, but their children refuse to consume them due to factors of texture, taste, or unattractive presentation. Seeing this reality, food innovations like milkfish noodles have a strategic role that is often overlooked in large-scale stunting reduction programmes. Government programmes frequently focus on supplement distribution or formal nutritional education, but an approach that directly touches daily eating habits through food product innovation can have a more grounded and sustainable impact. Children will not refuse to eat noodles, a food synonymous with their favourites, while hidden inside is the protein and nutritional content of milkfish that they consume without realising it. This kind of approach is far more realistic and applicable than simply urging the community to drastically change their eating patterns. One interesting aspect of this activity is the choice of implementing partner, namely PKK POKJA 3 Desa Gumeng. This was not without reason, as the PKK has proven to be one of the most effective community organisations in reaching households down to the most basic level. The women of the PKK are not just objects of training.