Jakarta – Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara stated that the realization of state spending at the beginning of 2026 showed a significant increase in line with the acceleration of various priority government programs, including the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program.
The government views the acceleration of state spending early in the year as an important strategy to maintain the momentum of national economic growth, particularly during the first quarter.
“By the end of February, state spending had reached Rp493.8 trillion, growing 41.9 percent compared with the same period last year,” Suahasil said during a presentation on the performance of the State Budget (APBN) in Jakarta.
One of the programs contributing to this accelerated spending is the MBG Program. The initiative has become part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen the quality of human resources while also stimulating economic activity across regions.
As of early March 2026, the MBG program had reached approximately 61.62 million beneficiaries across Indonesia. The program is implemented through more than 25,000 Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) spread across various regions.
“The acceleration of state spending, including through priority programs such as MBG, is expected to strengthen people’s purchasing power while also encouraging economic activity at the beginning of the year,” he said.
Beyond improving community nutrition, the MBG program is also designed as a strategy to strengthen nutritional intake during the first 1,000 days of life. The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) emphasized that the main beneficiaries of the program are toddlers, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers, collectively known as the 3B group. This clarification was made to correct the public perception that MBG is solely a school meal program, while in reality it represents a broader strategy to strengthen nutrition during the crucial early stages of life.
Deputy Head of BGN, Sony Sonjaya, explained that while around 77 countries have implemented school meal programs, Indonesia adopts a different approach by also targeting vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers.
“This is the unique advantage of the MBG program. Only in Indonesia is there a meal program where the food is delivered directly to homes by cadres from community health centers for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. This does not exist in other countries,” he explained.
Sony also emphasized that MBG implementation partners must prioritize the 3B group before conducting beneficiary registration in schools. According to him, this approach is directly related to the critical phase of the first 1,000 days of life, which plays a decisive role in shaping the quality of future generations.
The MBG program, he added, has been designed as a foundation for long-term human resource development by ensuring that the nutritional needs of vulnerable groups—particularly the 3B group—are fulfilled from the earliest stages of life, in line with Indonesia’s vision for 2045.