Doctors to Professional Chefs Deployed to Strictly Supervise Free Nutritious Meal Kitchens
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) plans to strengthen supervision of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme by involving professionals from various health and culinary fields on its supervisory board. The move is intended to ensure the programme’s implementation is overseen by truly competent parties.
BGN Head Sudaryono stated that the agency is proposing the supervisory board be filled with nutritionists, paediatricians, clinical nutrition specialists, obstetricians, and chefs who can provide input on the programme’s execution. ‘We want it to be supervised by competent people. We intend to propose several nutritionists, paediatricians, nutrition doctors, obstetricians, and also chefs to give tips and so on,’ Sudaryono said during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday (29/7/2026).
He emphasised that the BGN is deliberately opening up space for professionals to provide input to perfect the implementation of the free nutritious meal programme. ‘We are very open to all suggestions and will certainly be grateful if we are assisted by professional experts in their fields,’ he said. ‘We want to discuss with nutritionists together with the Ministry of Health to formulate many things. We will also invite other parties, perhaps the chefs’ association, because we want to hear a lot of input.’
Sudaryono added that coordination with the Ministry of Health will be carried out to formulate various technical aspects of the MBG programme. The BGN also plans to invite various professional organisations, including chef associations, to gather more input to continuously improve the programme’s quality.
The plan received full support from Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin. He stated that involving nutrition experts in formulating MBG policies and standards is an important step to improve implementation, given that nutritional issues remain one of Indonesia’s main health challenges. Budi said the Ministry of Health and BGN have agreed to collaborate with leading nutritionists to refine the MBG. The meeting is targeted to be completed before 5 August 2026.
‘Before 5 August, the Ministry of Health and BGN will sit down with Indonesia’s leading nutritionists, the list already exists, to decide two things. First, we will refine the target schools, age groups, locations, and focus areas,’ Budi said during a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Food office. In addition to determining the target beneficiary groups, the forum will also discuss the food menu standards to be provided to MBG recipients. ‘So, one is to determine the target, the other is to determine the standard. The standard is widely discussed, whether to provide nuts, milk, and so on, that will be included,’ he said. Budi expressed optimism that the refinement of these standards can be carried out quickly so that President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programme can run more effectively in addressing public nutrition issues. ‘I am very confident that with the new BGN head’s standards, he will move quickly and decisively to sort this out. So, let us give a chance to fix a programme that I think is very important for health,’ he concluded.