BGN to fully audit free meal kitchens during school holidays

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) will conduct a full audit on kitchens supplying meals for Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme during school holidays.

BGN will also close kitchens failing to meet standards. BGN Deputy Head Agustina Arumsari said the move aims to improve food safety standards, service quality, and the overall governance of the priority programme.

"We will temporarily halt operations and audit all kitchens; so that hopefully, by the time the children return to school, the situation on the ground will have improved and become more organized," Arumsari said in Jakarta on Monday (June 15).

The effort also includes its data management. Once the beneficiary data is accurate, she said BGN will restructure incentives for MBG kitchens, adjusting them based on the number of recipients and other performance indicators, such as the quality of the meals served.

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She explained the incentive will shift from a fixed Rp6 million (approximately US$338) per kitchen daily to a variable rate adjusted to the actual number of beneficiaries each kitchen serves.

Arumsari further noted the possibility of merging certain kitchens—or officially known as Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG)—will be conducted as part of the restructuring and refocusing process, which will also determine the specific incentives for each kitchen.

"We will evaluate the incentive model based on multiple performance indicators, rather than simply paying out based on output volume. It will depend on how well they can produce quality food and meet food safety standards," she noted.

Targeting 82.9 million beneficiaries nationwide, the MBG programme was launched in the early 2025 to improve the nutritional status of children under five years old, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to the high school level.

The Indonesian government recently enforced a leadership shake-up within the BGN—the agency tasked with implementing the nation's free meal programme—following critical governance, operational compliance, and quality control issues.

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Translator: Lintang B, Fath P, Raka Adji

Editor: Fransiska Ninditya

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