Jakarta – The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program has become one of the government’s strategic initiatives to improve children’s nutritional quality while also promoting community welfare. Considering its very large scope, the implementation of this program requires clean, transparent, accountable, and professional governance so that its benefits can be optimally felt by the public.
This was conveyed during a Radio Elshinta dialogue titled “Clean, Transparent, and Professional Governance in the Operation of SPPG as Part of the Implementation of the MBG Program.”
Vice Executive Director of the Indonesia Food Security Review (IFSR), Alfatehan Septianta, stated that the scale of the MBG program requires professional management and strong supervision.
“The MBG program has a very large scope, so transparent, accountable, and professional governance is key to maintaining public trust,” he said.
He explained that Indonesia is currently the country with the second-largest school meal program in the world in terms of beneficiaries. The MBG program has reached around 64 million beneficiaries every day.
“That number is still below India’s midday meal program, which reaches around 82 million beneficiaries per day,” Alfatehan noted.
According to him, once the MBG program is fully implemented, the number of beneficiaries in Indonesia could reach around 80 million people per day.
“This shows that the MBG program has great potential in strengthening efforts to improve children’s nutritional intake in Indonesia,” he explained.
To support the implementation of the program, the government through the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) continues to strengthen the operations of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) kitchens. To date, around 24,000 kitchens have been operating, or about 70 percent of the government’s target of 30,000 kitchens.
Alfatehan stated that BGN has also implemented various operational standards to maintain service quality and food safety.
“Each kitchen is required to meet food safety standards such as halal certification and the Hygiene and Sanitation Eligibility Certificate, and there are plans to implement HACCP standards,” he said.
He added that the MBG program not only improves children’s nutritional quality but also generates economic benefits for the community.
“In addition to improving the nutritional quality of school children, this program also stimulates the local economy because food supplies are sourced from local farmers and small businesses, while also creating job opportunities in kitchen operations,” he concluded.