Govt’ Committed to Accelerating Free Nutritious Meals Program

President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (05/03) convenes a meeting with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java province. (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (05/03) convened a meeting with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java province.

The weekend meeting underscored President Prabowo’s commitment to accelerating the operations of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) in order to expand the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG).

Head of the BGN, Dadan Hindayana, explained that the meeting was a follow-up to a recent phone call from President Prabowo regarding an update on the progress of the MBG program. During the meeting, Dadan reported the latest update and outlined plans to expedite the formation of new service units.

Dadan also stated that the MBG program currently serves around 3.3 million beneficiaries, and the new SPPG units are expected to begin operations on May 5 and May 14, 2025.

“The President encouraged us to stay motivated, and work with greater precision and care. This is a strategic program, an investment for the future of our human resources,” Dadan stated.

President Prabowo also offered encouragement to on the ground personnel, especially members of the SPPG and the Indonesian Development Pioneer Scholars (SPPI), who serve as the program’s front-liners.

“So far, we’ve met the target. Our goal through April was to serve 3 million beneficiaries, and thank God, we’ve achieved that. From May to August, we aim to serve 6 million beneficiaries, and we’re working toward that. We hope that by the end of May or early June, the number of beneficiaries will reach 6 million,” he explained.

Dadan further said that once training for SPPI batch 3 is completed, services will be accelerated further, with a goal of over 20 million beneficiaries by the end of August 2025. He also expressed hope that the entire BGN team would remain motivated and highly committed to the program’s success.

“God willing, may all officials and staffers at the BGN and the SPPI remain motivated, so we can work faster, more accurately, and achieve our target of zero incidents of food poisoning on the ground,” Dadan remarked.

(BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RI/MMB)