Theressia Sunday Silalahi, Anis Firmansah, Fahri Ali, Muhammad Nanda Andrianta, Jakarta – Indonesia's flagship Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program is facing mounting operational and governance challenges after hundreds of meal service kitchens temporarily halted operations due to delayed government funding and regulatory shortcomings.
Presidential Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman said the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is currently restructuring its budget and organization to ensure the program can continue operating effectively.
"The organization and budgeting will be rearranged," Dudung told reporters at the State Palace complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, referring to ongoing reforms led by BGN newly-appointed chief Nanik Sudaryati Deyang.
The government has slashed the 2026 MBG budget by Rp 67 trillion to Rp 268 trillion to improve fiscal efficiency and spending management
Dudung acknowledged that some MBG kitchens (SPPGs) had stopped operating because operational funds from BGN had yet to be disbursed. He added that the government was also reviewing kitchens that failed to meet licensing, hygiene, and waste-management standards.
"We will help. BGN's manpower is still very limited. My task is to ensure this presidential priority program continues running," he said.
The government is also evaluating discrepancies between planned and actual beneficiary numbers after reports emerged of speculative buying and selling of kitchen locations. Dudung said some kitchens were initially designed to serve up to 3,000 recipients but were operating far below target.
"We want to ensure all planning is based on actual beneficiary numbers so the program becomes more efficient, accountable, and targeted," he said.
According to government data, around 27,877 MBG kitchens have either become operational or been registered nationwide.
Operational problems have surfaced across several regions. In Southwest Aceh, five out of 19 SPPG kitchens suspended activities after operational aid funds had not yet been transferred. Managers had reportedly warned BGN that balances in their virtual accounts were running low before services were disrupted.
In Depok, West Java, students in the Duren Seribu area risk losing access to free meals if payments for several kitchens continue to be delayed. Three out of seven kitchens in the area reportedly have not received operational funding.
Meanwhile, 28 MBG kitchens in Blitar, East Java, were temporarily shut down by BGN for failing to meet wastewater management requirements. In Gresik, local authorities ordered all MBG kitchens to tighten waste and sanitation controls after several facilities failed to comply with wastewater treatment standards and hygiene certification requirements.
Gresik Regent Fandi Akhmad Yani said only 93 out of 132 operating kitchens in the district had obtained mandatory sanitation certificates.
The program is also facing growing legal and political scrutiny after the Attorney General's Office named former BGN chief Dadan Hindayana and two former deputies as suspects in an alleged corruption case linked to the MBG program.
Satria Unggul Wicaksana, a legal expert at Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, said the case highlighted deeper structural weaknesses in the program's governance and procurement system.
"This was predictable from the beginning," Satria said. "The program was designed as one of President Prabowo's flagship initiatives, but there were irregularities in its management from the start."
He argued that spending allocations appeared imbalanced, with procurement spending in some areas outweighing the core budget for food provision itself.
"The corruption case involving former BGN officials shows there are serious governance problems within the program," he said.
Despite the setbacks, the government plans to expand MBG operations into Indonesia's remote and underdeveloped regions through partnerships with private companies using corporate social responsibility funding to reduce pressure on the state budget.