SPPG Urged to Use Local Food to Curb Spike in Raw Material Prices

JAKARTA - The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has requested that the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) utilise local food sources to curb the rise in raw material prices due to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. Dadan explained that BGN is adopting a flexible approach in compiling MBG menus by adjusting to the potential of local resources and community preferences in each region. “Because we want to empower local resource potential and also local community preferences. So that the pressure on consumption is not too high,” Dadan stated in an official remark on Friday (24/4/2026). The aim is to avoid spikes in food ingredient needs that could impact market prices. “So if we mandate a national menu, the pressure would be high, prices would certainly rise,” Dadan added. He then recounted the experience during the celebration of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s birthday on 17 October 2025. “That day required 36 million eggs or about 2,200 tonnes. The impact was that egg prices temporarily rose by Rp 3,000,” he revealed. Therefore, Dadan clarified his previous statement regarding the need for up to 19,000 cattle for MBG. According to Dadan, that figure is merely a hypothetical calculation if all Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) simultaneously prepare beef-based menus, not a real daily condition. “This is just a hypothesis. So one SPPG, if it cooks beef, needs one cow. If we instruct all SPPG that on a certain date we will cook beef, it’s just the total number of SPPG multiplied by one cow,” he explained. If done simultaneously in one cooking process, the beef requirement for one SPPG could reach around 350 to 382 kilograms, equivalent to one cow for the meat needs.