BGN Empowers More Than One Million Workers Through Free Nutritious Meals Programme

The programme has reached more than 58 million beneficiaries and involved around 1.03 million workers, as well as more than 80,000 local suppliers from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has empowered more than one million workers through the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme and is refining its targeting of beneficiaries to improve the programme and help develop a high-quality workforce.

BGN Head Sudaryono said that, as of the end of October 2026, the agency had verified 26,723 of the 27,485 kitchens in the programme.

“The programme as a whole has reached more than 58 million beneficiaries and involved around 1.03 million workers, as well as more than 80,000 local suppliers from the MSME sector,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.

Sudaryono stressed that children’s food safety remains an absolute, non-negotiable priority amid the programme’s rapid expansion.

BGN also outlined the programme’s progress since its launch on 6 January 2025, when around 700 workers were responsible for overseeing roughly 27,000 kitchens with minimal infrastructure.

The circumstances prompted BGN to tighten its day-to-day operational oversight. In addition to closing thousands of unsuitable kitchens, it has introduced strict sanctions, including suspending disbursements to kitchens that fail to report their daily spending transparently.

Sudaryono also discussed the MBG 2.0 transformation, which is intended to ensure that the programme’s expanding coverage goes hand in hand with better governance on the ground, from kitchen hygiene to the quality of food served to beneficiaries.