Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious multibillion-dollar programme to provide free meals to more than a quarter of his people is officially under way, with 570,000 mouths to feed on its opening day.

Despite being the centrepiece of an election campaign that catapulted Prabowo to power last year, the scheme was rolled out with little fanfare on Monday, with no official launch and just 190 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals for schoolchildren and pregnant women in more than 20 provinces, officials said.

The free meal plan will be a Herculean logistical effort when in full swing, with a target by 2029 of reaching 82.9 million of the country’s 280 million population.

Prabowo’s signature policy has been controversial, however, with previous estimates of its cost of $28bn over five years triggering concern among some economists that it could dent Indonesia’s hard-won reputation for fiscal prudence.

Prabowo has defended the programme and last month described it as strategic in countering child malnutrition and spurring growth in Indonesia’s economy at the regional level. It is estimated to cost 71 trillion rupiah ($4.39bn) in its first stage this year, providing meals for 15 million people.

At an elementary school in West Jakarta, staff carried food trays to class and students picked them up one by one, finding rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, beans, and an orange.

Hana Yohana, a parent of a first grader, said she hoped the programme continues as it made her morning routine easier.

“Thank God, this helps us. We normally had to work hard preparing food every morning, and now we don’t,” she said.

The government and military, who will help prepare and distribute the meals, have been running pilot programmes where they have handed out trays of food including rice, chicken and milk.

The number of meal recipients will gradually expand to 3 million by March and more throughout the year, according to Dedek Prayudi, a spokesperson for Prabowo’s office.