Indonesia collaborates with Japan’s JICA to pilot the shokuiku food education approach within its free nutritious school meal programme, aiming to deepen students’ understanding of food origins, reduce waste, and enrich the educational value of meals.
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency and the Japan International Cooperation Agency are working together on a pilot project that brings Japan’s food education model into the country’s Free Nutritious Meals programme, in an effort to make school meals do more than simply fill children’s plates. The initiative is designed to test how shokuiku, Japan’s approach to food and nutrition education, can deepen students’ understanding of what they eat, where it comes from and how meal services are organised. According to the agency, the programme will also examine ways to cut waste and improve the way meals are delivered and served.
Prima Yosephine Berliana Tumiur Hutapea, who oversees systems and governance at the agency, said in Jakarta that Japan’s experience could help Indonesia strengthen the educational value of school meals. She said the aim is to make food part of the learning process, rather than something that is merely received and consumed. The pilot is expected to study how children’s experiences at school can be linked more closely to what happens earlier in the meal chain, from preparation at service units to the moment meals reach students.
The project has two main parts. One is a trial at the Nutrition Provision Service Unit level, known as SPPG, where the focus is on the food service process itself. The other is shokuiku activity in schools, intended to give pupils practical opportunities to learn about nutrition and the people involved in meal provision. Together, the two elements are meant to show how school feeding can support both better habits and a richer educational experience.
The pilot builds on a series of earlier exchanges between the two countries. JICA organised training for Indonesian officials in Japan in 2024 and 2025, with sessions in prefectures including Aichi and Shizuoka that covered school meal management, hygiene, food waste reduction and shokuiku. In February 2026, JICA and BGN also held a national seminar in Jakarta on strengthening food security and nutrition education in the MBG programme. The latest pilot suggests that the partnership is moving from training and discussion towards practical testing inside Indonesia’s own school meal system.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
