National Nutrition Agency to Restructure Free Meal Programme Beneficiaries, Excluding Wealthy Schools

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is currently overhauling the implementation of the free nutritious meal programme (MBG), specifically targeting the cluster of beneficiaries. The BGN will restructure the programme so that elite schools and recipients who are financially well-off will no longer receive MBG. “Yes, yes. The idea is that those who are capable, the wealthy, will not receive it again,” said BGN Head Nanik S Deyang to journalists at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026). Nanik did not elaborate further on the report that will be submitted to President Prabowo Subianto. Her meeting to report was originally scheduled for today but has been postponed until tomorrow. “This hasn’t been discussed yet; it will be discussed tomorrow. Not yet, not yet. I heard it’s tomorrow afternoon,” she said. Previously, Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas), during a coordination meeting with the BGN, called for an evaluation of the MBG implementation. One of Zulhas’s main concerns was the programme’s beneficiaries. Zulhas revealed that many elite schools that do not require the programme are receiving MBG. Conversely, he said, there are still schools needing the programme that have not been reached, especially in 3T regions (disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost). “As part of improvement efforts, we need to refocus so that these beneficiaries are precisely targeted. For instance, these well-off schools will be addressed directly within this month. The elite schools, well, they really don’t need nutritious meals,” Zulhas said after the coordination meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Food in Central Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026). “Those who need it have not yet received it, but those who don’t need it are getting it. So, this will be arranged further because we will focus on the very delayed 3T areas,” he continued. Zulhas also requested improvements to kitchen quality related to cleanliness. He stressed that there must be no more cases of food poisoning. “Because we have zero tolerance for food safety issues. Even one case is unacceptable; there must be no more poisoning. Therefore, we will focus on this within this month. Yes, in a month we will review it again,” he stated.