The Free Nutritional Meal Program Builds Community Economic Independence Through Optimizing Local Food Ingredients
By: Citra Kurnia Khudori*
The Free Nutritional Meal Program (MBG) demonstrates the relationship between government social policies and simultaneous economic development. Not only is the MBG a nutritional fulfillment scheme, it also opens up extraordinary opportunities to incorporate local components into the supply chain, thereby boosting regional economies.
In its implementation, the government encourages the raw materials used in the program to be sourced primarily from farmers, livestock breeders, and micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas. Therefore, the government’s budget for the MBG Program is indirectly absorbed by the local economy.
The Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, believes that the MBG program promises to benefit domestic economic growth in the near future. He explained that this impact can be measured by the economic cycle at the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) level, such as the creation of jobs, the involvement of the local food sector, and economic growth.
This statement demonstrates that the MBG function extends beyond providing nutritious food, but also serves as a mechanism that directly utilizes local ingredients and has the potential to revitalize the regional economic chain. In this regard, the government also needs to ensure that the food used originates from local community production.
Implementation at the regional level reinforces this. For example, in Riau Province, the local provincial government has established an MBG Acceleration Task Force to encourage remote SPPGs to strengthen and utilize local food.
The Secretary of the Riau Province MBG Acceleration Task Force, Wiwik Suryani, emphasized the importance of proper food management in SPPGs, especially those in remote areas. She emphasized that every kitchen in the region must meet adequate food storage criteria to ensure food availability is not hampered.
To ensure that remote SPPGs can continue to meet food needs and manage food storage effectively, Wiwik explained the importance of local food empowerment in the implementation of the MBG program in remote areas. She hopes that remote SPPGs will not only serve as food distribution points but also as economic drivers for the surrounding community through the utilization of local produce.
He explained that food ingredients such as vegetables, fish, and local agricultural products can be the main components of the MBG menu, as long as they meet established nutritional standards. Thus, the presence of SPPG kitchens can revitalize the local economic chain, from farmers and fishermen to small businesses in the surrounding area.
We must acknowledge that, from a practical perspective, optimizing local MBG ingredients has several very important implications. First, when MBG kitchens purchase from local farmers, it creates backward linkages, or connections, between one industrial sector and other sectors that supply raw materials for that sector, resulting in employment and increased income for local farmers or entrepreneurs.
Second, because MBG requires raw materials in large volumes and on a continuous basis, local businesses, livestock breeders, and farmers gain new, more structured markets. Micro-entrepreneurs in the food sector gain a real opportunity to increase their income.
This has been proven for Yulida Khomisah, the owner of a tempeh production house labeled WAK HASAN in Gunungsitoli District. Yulida, as one of the MSME partners in the MBG program, is entrusted with supplying thousands of portions of tempeh every week.
She is grateful that the MBG program is not only about fulfilling nutritional needs, but also about opening up economic opportunities in the community. With the profits she earns, Yulida admits she has been able to improve her own economic standard, as have other economic actors involved in the MBG supply chain.
Thirdly, from a regional perspective, the benefits are not only in upstream production but also in financial circulation. Funds withdrawn from the central budget through local kitchens and raw materials flow back into the community, strengthening the local economy and reducing dependence on the long national supply chain.
For example, in Nabire Regency, Papua, the MBG program is being utilized to maintain regional food security by utilizing local food ingredients as the main ingredient in providing free nutritious meals. The Acting Head of the Food Security Division of the Nabire Regency Agriculture Office, Kornelia, stated that to support the MBG program, the Nabire Regency Agriculture Office has 20 hectares of local food crops, including sweet potatoes, funded by the 2025 Special Autonomy (Otsus) program.
Furthermore, Kornelia added, rice, corn, and several other local foods are supported by the state budget. This is implemented in accordance with the Nabire Regency Agriculture Office’s program activities.
The MBG program should be viewed as a programA program that goes beyond mere social programs. MBG can be described as a targeted economic program. If all sectors succeed in maximizing local food production, the regional food sector will rise to prominence. Farmers will not only grow for traditional markets but also become regular suppliers to MBG kitchens. MSMEs will also grow due to their access to regular markets.
Ultimately, MBG kitchens will transform into centers of local economic activity, absorbing labor, empowering communities, and strengthening socio-economic networks in the region.
)* Socio-Economic Issues Observer
