Government Studies Community Kitchens for Free Nutritious Meals Programme

The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga) has proposed utilising community-based kitchens as an alternative distribution method for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, particularly in frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped (3T) regions. The proposed model is DAHSAT (Healthy Children’s Kitchen to Overcome Stunting), a programme previously run by the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN).

Minister of Population and Family Development Wihaji stated the scheme could be one option to address MBG distribution challenges in hard-to-reach areas. “We are offering an alternative concept for MBG services in 3T regions. Perhaps the DAHSAT model is one model worth considering,” Wihaji said on Friday, 12 June 2026.

Wihaji emphasised that this proposal does not mean distribution via vehicles from the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) is no longer needed. He said SPPG services remain necessary to reach schoolchildren and the 3B group, consisting of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. However, the community-based kitchen model, which has already been running, is considered worthy of consideration as a complement to the existing distribution mechanism.

Wihaji explained that the DAHSAT scheme allows the involvement of Family Support Teams (TPK) in delivering food directly to beneficiaries. Because the number of recipients is relatively small and their locations are close together, distribution can even be done on foot. “So the TPK deliver the MBG. They can do it on foot. We conducted a trial in Bogor, in one neighbourhood unit. Although it was not a remote area, it was a test of the system,” he said.

The proposal was previously conveyed by Wihaji during a limited ministerial-level coordination meeting on the implementation of the MBG programme at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs on Thursday, 11 June 2026. “This is actually for the 3T areas. We have often discussed finding solutions for 3T regions with a different scheme. We have one called DAHSAT,” Wihaji said.

During the same meeting, Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Nanik Sudaryati Deyang stated that her agency is currently restructuring and refocusing the MBG programme to make it more targeted. Priority will be given to the 3B group and communities in 3T regions.

According to Nanik, nutritional intervention is most effective from pregnancy through primary school age. Therefore, that age group is the main focus of the programme. “Our intervention is actually from one month of pregnancy up to nine years of age or until primary school,” she said.

Nanik stressed that BGN will focus MBG distribution on these priority groups so that the programme has an optimal impact. “So these 63 million beneficiaries are of quality, truly for the 3B and truly for the 3T,” she said.

In addition to reorganising the target beneficiaries, BGN is also encouraging the use of facilities already available in communities to expand MBG services, especially in areas that are still lagging behind. According to Nanik, a collaborative approach utilising existing facilities and support from various parties will accelerate the expansion of services without having to rely entirely on new infrastructure development through the state budget (APBN).