Refugees Rely Too Heavily on Instant Noodles, DT Peduli Introduces Fresh Vegetable Meals

PIDIE JAYA — DT Peduli continues to demonstrate its commitment to improving the quality of services for disaster survivors. After several days in which refugees relied heavily on instant noodles as their main food source, on Monday (8/12/2025), DT Peduli introduced healthier meal options featuring a variety of fresh vegetable dishes at evacuation-site public kitchens.

The distribution of vegetables aims to ensure that refugees—particularly children and the elderly—receive better nutrition while staying in evacuation shelters. Fresh produce was prepared by volunteers together with local residents into warm, nutritious meals such as vegetable soup, stir-fried vegetables, and clear vegetable broth.

“We want to ensure that refugees do not continuously depend on instant noodles. With the inclusion of fresh vegetables, we hope their nutritional needs can be met more properly,” said a representative of the DT Peduli public kitchen volunteers.

The public kitchen operates in evacuation areas affected by the disaster in Pidie Jaya Regency, serving hundreds of displaced families who continue to stay in temporary shelters each day. With the introduction of healthier menu options, DT Peduli hopes that refugees’ health conditions can be maintained and that they can go through the recovery period with greater resilience.