Editor’s Note
This article highlights the critical need for pre-packaged, ready-to-eat food as a strategic solution to accelerate disaster relief logistics, emphasizing speed and immediate consumability in disrupted environments.
In the emergency response phase of a disaster, the problem is often not the intention to help, but the speed of logistics. Former MPR Chairman, Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet), assessed that food aid must be immediately consumable when access is disrupted and public kitchens are not ready. Therefore, he encouraged making technically prepared food a strategic solution for emergency situations.
Bamsoet stated that PT BAMS (Banjamegara Agro Mandiri Sejahtera), established in 2013 in Banjarnegara, Central Java, has sent 1,000 packets of technically prepared food for disaster victims in Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Province. This aid was sent during the emergency response to natural disasters in Sumatra.
Bamsoet said on Tuesday (24/2/2026) while receiving directors of PT BAMS in Jakarta.
He explained that Andri Noviar represented PT BAMS, a technically prepared food manufacturer, which directly sends thousands of packets to disaster victims in Aceh Tamiang on Thursday (15/1/2026).
Bamsoet, who is also a member of the Golkar Party Faction in the DPR RI, linked this step to the continuously increasing trend of disasters. He said data from BNPB shows that the intensity of climate-weather related disasters is increasing. During 2025, thousands of incidents of floods, landslides, and strong winds were recorded, affecting millions of people. In Sumatra, several districts in Aceh and North Sumatra regions are included in areas prone to flooding due to extreme rainfall and rising rivers. In these conditions, road access is often cut off, logistics are blocked, and it is difficult to quickly operate public kitchens.
Bamsoet said.
According to him, PT BAMS’s products are designed for crises, meaning they can be consumed directly with hot water according to volume, without any complex cooking process. The processing and packaging technology makes it clean, durable for a certain period, and easy to distribute on a large scale – cutting the logistics chain and reducing dependence on public kitchens.
Bamsoet said.
He stated that innovation in the food industry should be included in the national disaster management design.
he said.