The linear programming approach is particularly useful for
countries such as Indonesia where there is district level autonomy
in health/nutrition program planning and implementation and
geographic and ethnic diversity in food availability and dietary
practices. For example, based on our data, the current Ministry of
Health of Indonesia guidelines (i.e. feeding 9- to 12-mo-old infants
minced mixed porridge of rice, meat, red pumpkin, and minced
tofu 3 times/d; snacks, such as biscuit or cake 2 times/d, and the
use of oil when cooking infant foods) (9) are not consistent with
current dietary practices in Bogor Selatan, where meat was not
consumed daily and some recommended foods were not locally
available (i.e. red pumpkin). The need for district-specific, food-
based recommendations is not unique to Indonesia. To accommo-
date different dietary patterns, district-specific nutrition education
programs were needed in, for example, rural Kenya (17).