Government Evaluates Free Nutritious Meal Programme, Recalculates Budget Needs
The government is opening up the possibility of achieving budget efficiencies for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme amid an ongoing evaluation of the governance of the programme’s implementation. The move is aimed at ensuring the programme’s budget requirements can be calculated more accurately while enhancing the effectiveness of its execution on the ground.
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that the interim evaluation results indicate a potential reduction in the MBG programme’s budget requirement compared to previous calculations. “From the calculation results, we believe there will be a reduction in the budget requirement for this Free Nutritious Meal programme,” Prasetyo told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Food building in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026).
Prasetyo explained that the government is still conducting further calculations with the Ministry of Finance and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to determine the programme’s budget needs more precisely. “That is why we are asking for time to also calculate with the Ministry of Finance and the BGN. So, from this structuring process, we will be able to calculate more carefully what the total budget needed for this nutritious meal programme actually is,” he explained.
According to Prasetyo, the evaluation concerns not only the budgetary aspect but also the governance of programme implementation on the ground. The government is targeting the restructuring process to be completed within approximately one month. “Our initial target is one month, it must be finished. But of course, there are dynamics, so the first thing we emphasise is that what is already running must continue, there must be no disruption. Everything related to MBG improvements we will look at later, not just the issue of motorcycles, but all other aspects as well,” Prasetyo said.
He added that the government will also evaluate the existence of Nutritional Service Fulfilment Units (SPPG), including the possibility of closing facilities that do not meet standard operating procedures (SOP) or are located in areas experiencing service overcapacity. “The direction is certainly towards that, but we cannot say today whether they will be closed or not. They are being restructured, after all, we are looking at them, inventorying their conditions. So, we also cannot immediately draw conclusions just by referring to numbers. The conditions of each one are certainly different, we will see,” he stated.
Prasetyo asserted that all SPPGs must operate in accordance with the established SOPs. According to him, the background of the owners or their political affiliations is not an issue as long as the management of the facility is carried out according to the applicable rules. “Including if, excuse me, the names of SPPG owners are mentioned. Basically, it is not about who the owner is, but rather what is not allowed is violating the rules of the game or violating the established SOPs,” he concluded.