JAKARTA – The government’s commitment to ensuring the success of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program continues to be strengthened through the implementation of clean, transparent, and professional governance, particularly in the operation of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). Proper management is considered an important factor in ensuring that this large-scale program runs effectively while delivering optimal benefits to the community.
Vice Executive Director of the Indonesia Food Security Review (IFSR), Alfatehan Septianta, stated that the MBG program is one of the government’s strategic initiatives aimed at improving the nutritional quality of the younger generation. Given the very large number of beneficiaries, the application of good governance principles is key to maintaining the quality of the program’s implementation.
“The Free Nutritious Meals program has a very large scale, so it requires transparent, accountable, and professional governance. With the implementation of good governance principles, this program can run effectively and deliver optimal benefits to the community,” Alfatehan said.
He explained that Indonesia has now become one of the countries with the largest number of beneficiaries in the world for school meal programs. So far, the MBG program has reached around 64 million beneficiaries every day.
“This achievement demonstrates the government’s strong commitment to improving the nutritional quality of the community, particularly school children. If the program is implemented at full scale, the number of beneficiaries is estimated to reach around 80 million people each day,” he explained.
To support the implementation of the program, the government continues to expand the network of SPPG kitchens across various regions. Currently, around 24,000 SPPG kitchens are operating, representing about 70 percent of the national target of 30,000 kitchens set by the government.
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has also established various operational standards through technical guidelines for the implementation of the MBG program. Each SPPG kitchen is required to meet food safety standards, including halal certification and the Hygiene and Sanitation Eligibility Certificate (SLHS). In the future, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standard will also be implemented to strengthen the food quality monitoring system.
Alfatehan believes that these measures demonstrate the government’s seriousness in ensuring the quality of meals served to beneficiaries.
“The strengthening of these operational standards reflects the government’s commitment to providing quality nutrition services while maintaining public trust in the MBG program,” he said.
In addition to improving the nutritional quality of school children, the MBG program also generates positive economic impacts for the community. With increasingly professional management, the MBG program is expected to help strengthen the quality of Indonesia’s human resources in the future.