KSP assures free nutritious meal programme governance overhaul will not reduce services

The government has assured that the governance overhaul of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme is being carried out to improve targeting accuracy and implementation effectiveness without reducing services to the public, according to Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Dudung Abdurachman. Speaking at Bina Graha, the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, on Friday, Dudung said the governance improvements aim to ensure every budget allocation delivers optimal nutritional impact for the community. “The governance overhaul of the Free Nutritious Meal Programme is not to reduce services, but to ensure every rupiah of the state budget is increasingly on target, has a more precise nutritional impact, and provides greater benefits for the community,” Dudung stated. The statement was made following a meeting with officials from the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and the Coordinating Ministry for Food, which discussed Circular Letter Number 12 of 2026 concerning Operational Adjustments for Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) during the school holiday period for the 2026 fiscal year MBG Programme. He noted that the Presidential Staff Office has also received input from SPPG volunteers as feedback for policy refinement. Dudung emphasised that the Presidential Staff Office, together with the Coordinating Ministry for Food, continues to oversee policy improvements to maintain service quality, ensure more effective budget use, sustain the food supply chain, and provide certainty for implementing partners. He also stressed that the government remains committed to continuing the MBG Programme, with one priority being implementation in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. In line with the national education calendar, MBG distribution to students is adjusted for the school holiday period from 22 June to 13 July 2026 as part of operational optimisation and resource efficiency. During this period, BGN is focusing on a comprehensive evaluation of SPPG operations, covering service quality, production capacity, compliance with facility and infrastructure standards, and beneficiary eligibility.