Prabowo Praises Police Role in Supporting Free Nutritious Meals Programme

President Prabowo Subianto has praised the contribution of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) in supporting the implementation of the free nutritious meals (MBG) project. Prabowo made the remarks while acting as inspector of the Bhayangkara Day commemoration ceremony on Wednesday, 1 July 2026. The Gerindra Party chairman noted that the police force has built more than a thousand nutritional fulfilment service units (SPPG), or MBG kitchens. “I do not hesitate to say here, the kitchens built by the police are the best kitchens. And this is not just my words. Many observers, many reviewers from world institutions who came to Indonesia saw these kitchens, and among them, most of what they saw were kitchens from the police,” Prabowo said in the Cikeas area, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday morning. Prabowo also appreciated the police’s active involvement in supporting his government’s programmes. He assessed that the police have taken on a role in national food security, especially through the development of maize production and the construction of food warehouses in various regions. “I have seen for myself the police building much-needed food warehouses, warehouses of very good quality,” Prabowo said. On the same occasion, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the institution would continue to assist the government’s food security programme. He said the police would increase the number of MBG kitchens and intensify the maize planting programme. “The President has given instructions to accelerate the realisation of food and energy self-sufficiency,” he said. According to Listyo, the police are collaborating with the state-owned banks association to facilitate people’s business credit (KUR) for farmers. In addition, the police are encouraging the planting of maize commodities with a potential arable land area of 1.37 million hectares. He claimed that from 2025 to the second quarter of 2026, the police had conducted a mass harvest with a total production of 5.7 million tonnes of maize. Regarding the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, the police are still targeting the construction of 1,500 SPPGs throughout 2026. As of June 2026, the police claim to have built 1,415 SPPGs, with details of 828 SPPGs already operational, 227 SPPGs in the operational stage, and 360 SPPGs under construction, including 33 in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. “All of these SPPGs are projected to serve 3.5 million beneficiaries and absorb 70,700 workers,” Listyo said. In front of President Prabowo, Listyo stated that the police’s SPPGs have obtained 348 sanitation feasibility certificates, 146 halal product assurance certificates, 285 water laboratory test certificates, and 305 trained chefs. The police have also compiled a book titled ‘Rasa Bhayangkara Nusantara’ containing 80 diverse menus to add food variety and ensure nutritional standards are met.