Coordinating Minister Zulhas Accelerates MBG Distribution in Religious-Based Schools
Coordinating Minister (Menko) for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan or Zulhas, visited Jogja and inspected the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 1 Jogja this morning. Zulhas stated that he would accelerate the application of MBG in religious-based schools.
Zulhas revealed that only around 20 percent of religious-based schools in Indonesia have been reached by the MBG programme. He explained that this statistic is far behind the distribution of MBG in general schools.
According to him, his side would take acceleration steps so that religious-based schools can soon benefit from MBG.
“I am working hard so that religious-based schools, whether MAN, Tsanawiyah, or Pondok (Pesantren), can have the MBG process accelerated,” said Zulhas at MAN 1 Jogja on Thursday (16/4/2026).
“Now general schools are over 80 percent, while religious-based schools are only 15-20 percent, that’s unfair,” he continued.
Regarding the MBG menu at MAN 1 Jogja that he monitored today, Zulhas said it already fully meets the established nutritional standards. He hopes that the benefits of MBG can soon be enjoyed by all schools, especially religious-based ones.
“It’s very good, there was egg protein, crackers, nasi goreng, fruit, vegetables. So fibre is there, protein is there, carbohydrates, complete,” said Zulhas.
“Therefore, we want to accelerate so that pondoks and other religious-based schools can also get the same rights as other general schools. We accelerate it, it’s called special service for MBG,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Head of MAN 1 Jogja, Edi Triyanto, added that the 845 students at MAN 1 Jogja only started receiving MBG in October last year. According to him, the implementation of MBG at his school has run smoothly so far.
“Alhamdulillah, here since receiving MBG, alhamdulillah, it’s safe. Starting October 2025, while MTs started in January (2025). Because according to the readiness of the nearest SPPG,” said Edi.