The Impact of Free Nutritious Meal Programs on Food Security: A Systematic Review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59065/jissr.v5i1.177

Keywords:

food security, free meal programs, nutrition policy, systematic review, Indonesia

Abstract

Food security is a persistent global challenge, particularly in low-income communities where access to nutritious food is limited. Free nutritious meal programs have been introduced to enhance food access and improve nutritional intake, especially for vulnerable populations such as children and low-income families. Despite their implementation, their overall impact on food security at the household and community levels remains underexplored. This systematic review examines the role of free nutritious meal programs in improving food security by evaluating their effects on food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. The study also highlights economic, social, and policy-related challenges affecting program sustainability. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Data were sourced from academic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, focusing on studies published in the last decade. Thematic analysis was employed to identify trends related to program effectiveness, policy integration, and long-term sustainability. Findings indicate that free meal programs enhance food security by increasing access to nutritious food, reducing malnutrition, and improving educational and economic outcomes. However, challenges such as financial constraints, logistical barriers, and policy fragmentation limit long-term success. While free nutritious meal programs offer short-term relief for food insecurity, their sustainability depends on strong policy support, financial investment, and integration with local food systems. Further research should explore scalable models to ensure their long-term effectiveness in diverse socio-economic settings.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ali Naser, I., Jalil, R., Wan Muda, W. M., Wan Nik, W. S., Mohd Shariff, Z., & Abdullah, M. R. (2014). Association between household food insecurity and nutritional outcomes among children in Northeastern of Peninsular Malaysia. Nrp, 8(3), 304–311. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2014.8.3.304

Beuchelt, T. D., & Badstue, L. (2013). Gender, nutrition- and climate-smart food production: Opportunities and trade-offs. Food Security, 5(5), 709–721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-013-0290-8

Bundy, D. (2005). School Health and Nutrition: Policy and Programs. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 26(2_suppl2), S186–S192. https://doi.org/10.1177/15648265050262S209

Burchi, F., & De Muro, P. (2016). From food availability to nutritional capabilities: Advancing food security analysis. Food Policy, 60, 10–19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.03.008

Dwiartama, A., Kelly, M., & Dixon, J. (2022). Linking food security, food sovereignty and foodways in urban Southeast Asia: cases from Indonesia and Thailand. Food Security. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-022-01340-6

Horta, B. L., Santos, R. V., Welch, J. R., Cardoso, A. M., dos Santos, J. V., Assis, A. M. O., Lira, P. C. I., & Coimbra Jr, C. E. A. (2013). Nutritional status of indigenous children: findings from the First National Survey of Indigenous People’s Health and Nutrition in Brazil. International Journal for Equity in Health, 12(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-23

J., G. H. C., R., B. J., R., C. I., Lawrence, H., David, L., F., M. J., Jules, P., Sherman, R., M., T. S., & Camilla, T. (2010). Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People. Science, 327(5967), 812–818. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1185383

Kahane, R., Hodgkin, T., Jaenicke, H., Hoogendoorn, C., Hermann, M., (Dyno) Keatinge, J. D. H., d’Arros Hughes, J., Padulosi, S., & Looney, N. (2013). Agrobiodiversity for food security, health and income. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 33(4), 671–693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0147-8

Khadija, U., Mahmood, S., Ainee, A., Quddoos, M. Y., Ahmad, H., Khadija, A., Zahra, S. M., & Hussain, A. (2022). Nutritional health status: association of stunted and wasted children and their mothers. BMC Pediatrics, 22(1), 255. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03309-y

Mehraban, N., & Ickowitz, A. (2021). Dietary diversity of rural Indonesian households declines over time with agricultural production diversity even as incomes rise. Global Food Security, 28, 100502. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100502

Nosratabadi, S., Khazami, N., Abdallah, M. Ben, Lackner, Z., S. Band, S., Mosavi, A., & Mako, C. (2020). Social Capital Contributions to Food Security: A Comprehensive Literature Review. Foods, 9(11), 1650. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111650

Pinstrup-Andersen, P. (2009). Food security: definition and measurement. Food Security, 1(1), 5–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-008-0002-y

Ruel, M. T., & Alderman, H. (2013). Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition? The Lancet, 382(9891), 536–551. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60843-0

Strauss, J., & Thomas, D. (1998). Health, Nutrition, and Economic Development. Journal of Economic Literature, 36(2), 766–817. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2565122

Thorlakson, T., & Neufeldt, H. (2012). Reducing subsistence farmers’ vulnerability to climate change: evaluating the potential contributions of agroforestry in western Kenya. Agriculture & Food Security, 1(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/2048-7010-1-15

Yusriadi, Y., & Cahaya, A. (2022). Food security systems in rural communities: A qualitative study. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.987853

Yusriadi, Y., Cahaya, A., & Hamzah, F. (2024). Farmer adaptation strategies through local farming systems in Enrekang, Indonesia. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 21652. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-72953-4

Yusriadi, Y., Sugiharti, S., Ginting, Y. M., Sandra, G., & Zarina, A. (2024). Preventing Stunting in Rural Indonesia: A Community-Based Perspective. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 24(9), 24470–24491. https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.134.24820

Downloads

Published

2025-01-27

How to Cite

Yusriadi, Y. (2025). The Impact of Free Nutritious Meal Programs on Food Security: A Systematic Review. Journal of Indonesian Scholars for Social Research, 5(1), 92–97. https://doi.org/10.59065/jissr.v5i1.177

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2025): JISSR

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yusriadi Yusriadi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following conditions:

  1. Authors retain the copyright of their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The published work is licensed under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This license permits others to share and adapt the work, provided that proper credit is given to the original author(s) and the journal as the initial publisher.
  2. Authors may establish separate, additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of their published work (e.g., depositing it in an institutional repository or including it in a book), as long as they acknowledge its original publication in this journal.
  3. Authors must sign a copyright transfer agreement once they have reviewed and approved the final proof provided by JISSR before publication.