M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – The Indonesian government's free nutritious meal (MBG) program has failed to reach most vulnerable citizens, according to a study by the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), while calling it costly.
The study analyzed poverty rates and the presence of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) responsible for preparing and distributing the free meals in an area.
"In places with a high percentage of poor residents, there is a lower number of public kitchens," said researcher Isnawati Hidayah from Celios, as quoted from the Celios Memo on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
The analysis also shows the number of MBG kitchens decreasing in frontier, outermost, and least developed (known as 3T regions in Indonesia) regions, where many of the impoverished, isolated, and overlooked citizens live.
According to Isnawati, this signals failure to properly target beneficiaries of the free nutritious meal, raising queries about how effective Prabowo's flagship program with a Rp335 trillion budget really is.
This program has not seen much efficiency amid a state budget deficit, and it is unruffled by inflation pressures or the potential of extreme El Nino phenomenon that could hail prolonged drought.
A 2025 Celios study shows an inclusion error of 34.2 percent in the MBG program, meaning many recipients of the program are not those needing it the most.
Isnawati said this situation is exacerbated by budget allocations for irrelevant matters, such as event organizers, tablet procurement, socks, electric motorcycles, and others.
"Instead of improving child nutrition, the MBG program reflects misalignment and failures in budget management," she stated.
Celios recommends halting the expansion of SPPGs and reviewing the design, distribution, and implementation of the free nutritious meal program. The universal approach of the program has been proven ineffective because the most vulnerable regions are not seeing optimal distribution.
The SPPG distribution, procurement of goods and services, and the potential for budget inflation of the program must also be thoroughly audited.
Subsequently, a real-time public monitoring system to oversee the budget distribution is required by using outcome indicators such as nutrition status and the reduction of stunting.