Bogor — President Prabowo Subianto emphasized that the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) not only functions to improve public access to nutrition, but also serves as a driver of economic activity while expanding job opportunities across various regions. The government views the implementation of the program as having stimulated local economic circulation, particularly through the operation of SPPG kitchens that involve labor absorption and food supply networks from rural areas.
“Our MBG program has reached 60 million beneficiaries today. We will reach 82 million by no later than December 2026. Even under current conditions, MBG has already resulted in 22,275 operational SPPG kitchens, with another 13,829 in the process of assessment and application. With just these 22,000 kitchens, we have already created 1 million jobs,” Prabowo said during a briefing at the 2026 National Coordination Meeting of the Central and Regional Governments in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, on Monday (February 2).
According to Prabowo, the presence of tens of thousands of SPPG kitchens not only creates direct employment for kitchen workers, but also drives rural economic chains. Each kitchen requires supplies of food ingredients ranging from vegetables and eggs to fish and meat, involving numerous local suppliers.
“Eventually, when we reach 82 million MBG beneficiaries, we will create between 3 and 5 million jobs,” he said optimistically.
Prabowo stressed that job creation requires concrete action, not merely criticism. “I have proven to you, as President of the Republic of Indonesia, that I have now generated 1 million jobs solely through the MBG program,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas Rachmat Pambudy assessed that MBG has become a new engine of economic growth. “MBG is important, job creation is important. This program is not merely about giving ‘fish’ to beneficiaries, but also about providing the ‘fishing rod’ to keep the wheels of the economy turning,” he said firmly at the 2026 Prasasti Economic Forum.
He added that MBG is designed to create a multiplier effect through the absorption of village products and food downstreaming, thereby accelerating rural industrialization while strengthening the national social infrastructure.
