Nutrition Agency Head: Newly Built Kitchens Not Automatically Cancelled Amid Moratorium

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) will impose a moratorium on the construction of nutrition fulfilment service units (SPPG). The move is aimed at improving the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. BGN chief Nanik S Deyang stated that the agency will halt the construction of SPPG, or MBG kitchens, and instead focus on improving the management of units already in operation. “The main point is we are halting SPPG development to reorganise first,” she said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

She noted there are currently 27,877 operational MBG kitchens across Indonesia. These tens of thousands of kitchens will be the focus of the BGN’s governance improvement efforts. “Currently there are 27,877 operational kitchens. We will now reorganise the existing ones,” Nanik stated.

Regarding the possibility of legal claims from MBG kitchen investors whose projects are currently under construction, Nanik suggested such concerns were premature. She explained that the moratorium does not necessarily mean the cancellation of kitchens still in the building process. “They are not necessarily going to be cancelled, we are still reorganising,” she added.

The BGN has outlined several work plans under its new leadership. Besides imposing a development moratorium, the agency will focus on expanding the MBG programme to the 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and least developed) and reviewing or refocusing the programme’s beneficiaries. The BGN will also prioritise serving MBG to the 3B group, which includes pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers.

Previously, SPPG owners went viral on social media after protesting to the BGN over delayed budget disbursements for kitchen partners, despite having spent significant funds on building premises. Meanwhile, several SPPG in the regions reportedly had to cease operations due to a lack of top-up funds.