Indonesia Continues to Push for Acceleration of the ‘Free Nutritious Meals’ Program
Jakarta – The government through the Ministry of Home Affairs continues to push for the acceleration of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program by focusing on providing land for the construction of public kitchens or Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). This step was taken to ensure that the program runs on time and targets school children directly.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tomsi Tohir, said that all regional governments (Pemda) were asked to immediately identify and submit a maximum of 10 locations to be used as public kitchens for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
“The data is very necessary for BGN, because from that data it must be checked again. It must be checked again which ones are feasible and which ones are not feasible,” said Tomsi.
According to him, submitting up to ten locations is important to provide options if there are locations that do not meet technical or administrative requirements. This step also aims to anticipate the possibility of budget adjustments.
Tomsi emphasized the urgency of providing land, especially in the 3T (Disadvantaged, Frontier, and Outermost) areas, so that children in remote areas can also feel the benefits of this program.
The government is targeting 1,542 MBG kitchens to be established by August 2025 at the latest. These kitchens will become centers for processing and distributing nutritious food for students. The determination of the location of the kitchen takes into account its proximity to schools to ensure efficient food distribution.
“The most strategic point is being sought, the most strategic again,” said Tomsi.
In line with this, the Deputy for Promotion and Cooperation of BGN, Nyoto Suwignyo, explained that President Prabowo Subianto has directed that MBG kitchens be built on land owned by the Regional Government with a right of use status. This policy is intended to not incur additional costs and accelerate the legality process for land use.
“This means that we hope this location is not far from the target group,” said Nyoto.
Nyoto added that the kitchen should be close to a school that covers at least 3,000 students and can be reached within a maximum of 20 minutes.
The MBG program is one of the national priorities in improving the nutritional quality of Indonesian children and preventing stunting from an early age. The active involvement of all levels of the region can accelerate the realization of this program.
The acceleration efforts made by the government in the Free Nutritious Meal program show a strong commitment to reducing malnutrition rates and improving the quality of human resources from an early age.
With synergy between the central and regional governments and community support, the MBG program is expected to be implemented comprehensively soon, so that its benefits can be felt immediately by millions of Indonesian children.
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