SIDOARJO, thekabarnews.com—Indonesian authorities have tightened security around the Manbaul Hikam Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, after hundreds of students developed symptoms consistent with food poisoning following a government-funded free meal.

The students at the school in Putat village, Tanggulangin district, began reporting nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea on Tuesday afternoon, September 1, 2026.

They had eaten meals supplied through Indonesia’s Free Meals (MBG) program after midday prayers.

Military (TNI) personnel and Banser volunteers guarded the school’s entrance and inner compound as parents and local residents arrived.

Security officers also managed traffic while dozens of ambulances transported symptomatic students to hospitals and community health centers.

The Sidoarjo Health Agency (Dinkes Sidoarjo) initially recorded 293 students receiving treatment or medical observation at eight hospitals. Figures continued to change as authorities collected reports from different facilities.

Later provincial reporting identified 512 people with complaints across 19 institutions that received meals from the same kitchen, meaning the wider total did not refer solely to Manbaul Hikam.

A student named Hasan said the meal packages arrived at approximately 11:30 a.m. and students ate them at around 1 p.m. He did not eat the food but witnessed his classmates becoming ill several hours later.

“After the Asr prayer, one of my friends kept going back and forth to the bathroom,” Hasan said.

“He stayed inside for a long time. When someone asked what was wrong, he said his stomach hurt,” he added.

Hasan said more students, including female pupils, soon reported similar symptoms.

“Then the number suddenly increased. The female students also began experiencing it,” he said.

Sidoarjo Regent Subandi said medical teams had treated the students at RSUD R.T. Notopuro, RSI Siti Hajar, RS Delta Surya and nearby community health centers.

“The main problem was diarrhea. God willing, they are now recovering. The boarding school has recorded everyone, so parents should not be worried,” Subandi said.

“Thank God, we have monitored everyone and medical workers have handled them properly. They are safe, and there have been no obstacles,” he added.

Authorities also rejected circulating claims that a student had died.

Investigators traced the meals consumed by the affected students to the Kalitengah Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) in Tanggulangin. Other schools supplied by the same kitchen also reported students with similar complaints.

The East Java office of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) temporarily suspended the kitchen while officials evaluate its operations and await laboratory results.

“For now, it has been temporarily suspended. BGN has issued the suspension letter,” BGN regional official Teguh Bayu Wibowo said, according to DetikJatim.

Dinkes Sidoarjo and police have secured food samples for laboratory testing.

The common food supplier provides an important lead, but investigators had not confirmed the contaminant or exact cause when they prepared this article.

Authorities must complete the laboratory and epidemiological investigation before formally attributing the illnesses to a particular ingredient or operational failure.