Jakarta, Dec. 9 -- The Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry has established 39 public kitchens across Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra to provide meals for victims of floods and landslides, spending roughly Rp 2 billion (about US$116,000) daily, the minister said Tuesday.

Minister Saifullah Yusuf said the kitchens have been placed strategically near easy access to supply routes to ensure raw materials can be delivered quickly and cooking can start immediately.

"We established these public kitchens in cooperation with local disaster agencies (BPBD) and community groups.The communities run the kitchens independently; we supply the food ingredients," he said.

The 39 kitchens have capacity to produce 420,000 meals per day, enough for thr...