By: Rina Mardiansyah *)
The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program, one of the strategic initiatives of President Prabowo Subianto’s government, continues to show significant progress thanks to synergy between state institutions, support from the business world, and community involvement. This step not only shows the government’s commitment to fulfilling the basic rights of Indonesian children, but also reflects the spirit of mutual cooperation as a main pillar in realizing national development goals.
The official launch of the Polri Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) by President Prabowo Subianto on the 79th Bhayangkara Day is real proof that MBG is fully supported by state institutions. With the establishment of SPPG units evenly throughout Indonesia, Polri is now not only carrying out security functions, but is also present as a community partner in efforts to fulfill the nutrition of the younger generation. The President openly expressed his appreciation for the Chief of Police’s initiative in making MBG an important part of Polri’s service work to the people. The President’s emphasis that Polri must be among the people, hear the cries of the people, and feel the difficulties of the people, illustrates a new paradigm in police governance that is more humanistic and solution-oriented.
The National Police’s commitment to synergizing nutritious food programs is reflected in real efforts to build more than a hundred MBG kitchen units, equipped with food production facilities according to guidelines from the National Nutrition Agency. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo reported that most of these kitchens have started operating or are under construction. MBG kitchens spread nationwide are at the forefront of ensuring that thousands of children receive nutritious food consistently every day, while also demonstrating vertical synergy from the center to the regions.
Support for MBG comes not only from state institutions, but also from the national banking sector, one of which is through PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. BRI’s role in encouraging MSMEs to be actively involved in the MBG supply chain gives a double meaning to this program. Through the People’s Business Credit (KUR) financing scheme, BRI provides opportunities for business actors such as Maida Desy Amnah from Ogan Komering Ilir to increase their production capacity and meet MBG kitchen standards. Maida’s success story, which is now able to supply thousands of portions of nutritious food to six schools with a local workforce that is almost twice as much as before, shows that the MBG program is able to become a real driving force for the local economy.
With stable demand and certainty of distribution, the MBG program provides market guarantees for MSMEs. This directly increases business resilience and encourages more inclusive growth. BRI, in this case, is not only a provider of financing access, but also a strategic partner in empowerment. BRI’s grassroots approach makes an important contribution to the balance between social intervention and economic development. The MBG program ultimately becomes a means to strengthen food security while expanding the multiplier effect in the real sector.
The government consistently encourages all parties to join in this great effort. When security forces, the financial sector, and business actors unite in one vision, the impact is not only felt at the dinner table of Indonesian children, but also in the social and economic structure of society. MBG is a symbol of a strategic policy that not only answers short-term challenges regarding nutrition, but also builds a foundation for a healthier, smarter, and more productive future for the nation.
The success of MBG is also inseparable from the clear and focused leadership direction. President Prabowo emphasized that this program is not just a populist policy, but a long-term investment to save the next generation. In this context, the active involvement of state apparatus such as the Police and TNI reflects that national security is not only measured by territorial stability, but also by the resilience of human resources. When state institutions move beyond their conventional functions to enter the social realm, government programs do not only become planning documents, but become real actions in the field.
This cross-sector synergy creates a mutually reinforcing ecosystem. The government directs, state institutions implement, the private sector supports, and the community enjoys the results. This is the face of inclusive development that is the hallmark of the Prabowo government. When programs like MBG are driven with sincerity and the involvement of various elements of the nation, the impact will not be limited to statistical figures, but rather real changes in the daily lives of the people.
With the sustainability and expansion of the increasingly structured implementation of MBG, the government shows that the state is present concretely in the people’s basic affairs. The synergy that is built is not merely administrative coordination, but a unity of determination to place the people’s welfare as the main goal. And as long as this spirit is maintained, the ideal of building a more just and prosperous Indonesia is not an empty hope, but a process that is underway with a definite direction.
*) Public Policy Observer
