Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has officially launched an ambitious multi-billion dollar plan to provide free meals to more than a quarter of the population, with 57 people to be served on opening day. Ten thousand people have food to eat.

Although the program was a centerpiece of the campaign that brought Prabowo to power last year, it was launched with little fanfare on Monday, with no official launch and only 190 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals for schoolchildren and pregnant women in more than 20 countries. A meal. provincial officials said.

It will be a logistical undertaking once the free meals scheme is fully rolled out, with the aim of reaching 82.9 million people in the country of 280 million by 2029.

Prabowo’s signature policy has been controversial, however, with its five-year cost previously estimated at $28 billion, sparking concerns among some economists that it could damage Indonesia’s hard-won reputation for fiscal prudence .

Prabowo defended the plan, calling it a strategic move last month to combat child malnutrition and stimulate regional economic growth in Indonesia. The first phase this year is expected to cost 7.1 trillion rupees ($4.39 billion) and provide meals to 15 million people.

At a primary school in West Jakarta, staff delivered food trays to classrooms and students picked them up to find rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, beans and an orange.

Hana Yohana, a parent of a first-grader, said she hopes the program continues because it makes her morning routine easier.

“Thank God, this helps us. We usually have to work hard to prepare food every morning, but not anymore,” she said.

The government and military, which help prepare and distribute meals, have been running pilot projects to distribute pallets of food including rice, chicken and milk.

Dedek Prayudi, spokesman for Prabowo’s office, said the number of people receiving meals would gradually increase to 3 million by March and more throughout the year.