Sultan HB X Asks for Improvements and Price Listings for Free Nutritious Meal Packages
The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, has asked the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and the Nutritional Service Units (SPPG) to include price information on the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) packages.
This follows the increasing criticism of the dry food menus distributed during Ramadan. In particular, the quality of the dry food menus is considered not to be commensurate with the allocated budget of IDR 10,000 per serving.
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“Some people have complained that the menu (of the MBG) is not quite right. I have asked the Regional Secretary to immediately call the person in charge of the MBG,” said the Sultan in Yogyakarta, Thursday, February 26, 2026.
During this Ramadan, various posts on social media have highlighted the variations in the menus in several areas of Yogyakarta. This is because the distributed meal packages only contain items that are also accused of being low in nutrients, such as fried food, dry bread, and peanuts.
Sultan HB X has instructed the program managers to improve the food composition. The Sultan also asked that public concerns regarding the lack of clear price information per serving be addressed with concrete steps to increase transparency regarding the value of the distributed items.
“Our hope is that, in addition to improving the menu, the price should also be included, so that there are no longer just assumptions (about the price) that ‘this or that costs IDR 10,000’,” said Sultan HB X. He believes that including the price on each item in the MBG meal packages will make the program management much more transparent and be able to avoid unnecessary polemics.
Furthermore, the Sultan explained that this transparency must include the smallest details of the contents of the food package so that there are no more doubts about where the budget is allocated. “For example, if there is a banana in the menu, (it should be stated) how much it costs, so that it is clear, so that there are no more questions,” said the Sultan.
Through these improvements, it is hoped that each SPPG will no longer seem to be putting together menus haphazardly and will continue to prioritize quality standards even when serving dry food during the fasting period.
The Head of the Regional National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Gagat Widyatmoko, stated that he would strengthen transparency in the implementation of the MBG program during Ramadan, including regarding price information. “Regarding the provision of price information on the MBG menu during Ramadan, in principle, we fully support this step,” he said.
According to him, the plan to include prices on the MBG menu was actually an initiative from the BGN that had been conveyed in a coordination meeting with the DIY MBG Task Force.
“We at the DIY BGN have also instructed all SPPG levels to immediately follow up and implement the inclusion of price information on the Ramadan MBG packages in accordance with applicable regulations,” said Gagat.
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