June 4, 2026 | 10:12 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) plans to limit the number of free nutritious meal (MBG) kitchens or Nutritious Meal Service Units (SPPG) to a maximum of 6 units per sub-district. This policy is part of the moratorium on the construction of new kitchens pursued by the new head of BGN, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, to reorganize the program implementation and streamline the budget.Nanik stated that the agency would temporarily halt the registration of new kitchens while evaluating the needs of kitchens in each area. According to her, one consideration for the moratorium is the perceived sufficient number of existing kitchens that have applied and are in operation, especially in urban areas and agglomeration regions. "We will arrange this first. For example, six kitchens are adequate for one sub-district. That's it, just six," Nanik said in a press conference at the BGN office, Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, June 4, 2026.She explained that the moratorium allows BGN to reevaluate the ideal kitchen needs for each subdistrict and district according to the number of beneficiaries. After the reorganization is completed, the government will decide whether to reopen the registration for new kitchens. "If we find that it's insufficient after our review, then we will reopen the registration. So, we'll arrange it first," she said.Nanik stated that currently the construction and applications for MBG kitchens are more concentrated in agglomeration areas, while underserved, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions are still not optimally served. "Honestly, now what's piling up is in the agglomeration areas. The 3T areas have not been touched," Nanik said. According to her, President Prabowo Subianto has requested that the 3T areas be prioritized.The moratorium policy for new MBG kitchens is part of the consolidation agenda of the new BGN leadership recently appointed by President Prabowo. In the first coordination meeting, the BGN leadership set budget efficiency as the main focus.Nanik explained that the agency will refocus on its beneficiaries, temporarily stop opening new kitchens, improve existing kitchens, and design a scheme for implementing the MBG in the 3T areas so that it does not rely solely on the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).Currently, BGN's budget is said to be around Rp26.8 trillion after government budget cuts. Nevertheless, Nanik stated that they are still trying to find further budget efficiency without reducing the program targets. "The first thing we're doing is budget efficiency. Even though it's been cut now, there's still Rp 26.8 trillion left, and we hope we can reduce it further without missing the targets," she said.For the 3T areas, BGN is preparing several alternative funding options besides the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). These include the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of state-owned and private companies, grants from international organizations, and the utilization of existing kitchen facilities in the regions. "In essence, to reduce the burden on the APBN that used to fully finance 100 percent," Nanik said.In addition, BGN is considering using school canteens, public kitchens, or existing kitchen facilities in remote areas. According to Nanik, the number of beneficiaries in some 3T areas is relatively small, so constructing new kitchens is not always the most efficient choice.At the same time, Nanik also hinted that the target of 82.9 million MBG beneficiaries this year is no longer the main priority. According to her, the government will emphasize service quality and target accuracy rather than pursuing coverage figures. "We have informed the President that this year, we are not pursuing quantity. We will improve the quality," Nanik said.Read: Prabowo Bans Omelets from MBG MenuClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
