Summary: The Free Nutritious Meal Program (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) has emerged as one of Indonesia’s largest social initiatives, designed to improve child nutrition and reduce stunting through free daily meals for school-aged children. Despite its noble intent and substantial fiscal allocation exceeding seventy trillion rupiah, the program’s first year revealed significant structural weaknesses. This study evaluates MBG’s implementation challenges, focusing on fiscal efficiency, governance readiness, food safety, and public trust. Using a qualitative policy analysis approach, the paper identifies key barriers, including underutilized budgets, unprepared infrastructure, inconsistent menu delivery, logistical delays, and recurring foodborne illness incidents. These findings indicate that centralized management through large-scale Nutrition Service Units (SPPG) is financially burdensome, operationally rigid, and contextually unsuitable for Indonesia’s diverse geography. The paper proposes a paradigm shift toward a decentralized, community-based kitchen model, integrating school kitchens, cooperatives, and micro-enterprises to shorten distribution chains, improve food freshness, enhance hygiene oversight, and empower local economies. This reorientation emphasizes participatory governance, cross-sectoral collaboration, and capacity building to ensure accountability and sustainability. Corrective measures such as comprehensive audits, temporary expansion moratoriums, standard operating procedures, and transparency mechanisms are also recommended. Ultimately, the study argues that MBG’s long-term success depends not on the magnitude of its budget but on institutional integrity, food safety assurance, and community engagement. Redesigning the program along these lines would transform MBG from a fiscal burden into a sustainable investment in Indonesia’s human capital and social equity.
Introduction
The Free Nutritious Meal Program (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) represents one of the most ambitious social initiatives ever undertaken by the Indonesian government. The program’s core objective is to provide free nutritious meals to millions of school-age children and vulnerable groups to enhance national nutritional status and reduce stunting rates. Conceptually, it embodies the state’s responsibility to guarantee the right to healthy, sustainable food for its younger generation.
However, after nearly a…
