CSIS Researcher Proposes Cutting Free Nutritious Meals to 3-4 Days per Week

A researcher from the economics department at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Riandy Laksono, believes one short-term solution to address fiscal pressures is to reduce the distribution of free nutritious meals, or MBG. It is known that by the end of March 2026, the state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN) deficit was recorded at Rp 240.1 trillion, equivalent to 0.93 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In detail, state revenue was recorded at Rp 574.9 trillion. Meanwhile, state expenditure realisation reached Rp 815 trillion, or about 21.2 percent of the APBN. For Riandy, the clearest solution is actually to reduce MBG because the project consumes a massive budget. However, cuts to the project cannot be done drastically. “But that is not easy, because the community kitchens, called SPPG (Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units), have already been built. There are already 27,000 units out of a target of 30,000 SPPG,” said Riandy during an online discussion on Wednesday, 29 April 2026. Riandy has allowed Tempo to quote his presentation. This means, Riandy continued, around 90 percent of the MBG provider kitchens have been built in various regions of Indonesia. On the other hand, at least until mid-April, the MBG project has reached 62.35 million beneficiaries. “So imagine how many workers and capital would be wasted if MBG were reduced drastically,” said Riandy. Therefore, one option is not to stop MBG entirely. “Or only target the groups most lacking in nutrition, or the poorest categories, but reduce the days of MBG,” said Riandy. Instead of six days a week, the government could cut MBG distribution days to four or three. “That is more acceptable than eliminating the entire implementation of MBG for some regions that do not need it,” said Riandy. Previously, Deputy Finance Minister Juda Agung said eliminating MBG distribution on Saturdays could save around Rp 1 trillion in one day. Juda stated that this step is part of sharpening or refocusing government spending so that the implementation of priority programmes continues more efficiently and with quality. “For example, MBG, which used to provide free lunch on Saturdays, is now eliminated. One day can save one trillion,” said Juda during the Policy Dialogue session at the Kick Off Acceleration of Indonesia Intermediation (PINISI) event in Jakarta on Monday, 27 April 2026, as quoted by Antara. He explained that this policy is considered more logical because students do not need to come to school just to receive food. According to him, the savings could reach around Rp 4 trillion in a month if calculated over four weeks. “Four times a month can save or economise Rp 4 trillion. In a year, of course, we can save around Rp 50 trillion,” he said.