Sri Mulyani Says Free Nutrition Eating Can Reduce Poverty By 0.19 Percent

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati claims the Free Nutrition Food (MBG) program will contribute 0.7 percent to Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Sri Mulyani explained that the MBG program is estimated to involve around 185,000 workers and has the potential to reduce poverty by 0.19 percent.

The State Treasurer gave an example that the MBG program seemed to hold a wedding party every day for a full year because the government was preparing meals at 5,000 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG).

"If you are going to hold your children's weddings, you prepare them for one year, six months. For this one, we provide food for 5,000 people at each facility every day. So you feel like you are holding wedding parties every day throughout the year," Sri Mulyani said at the Mandiri Investment Forum 2025, Tuesday, February 11.

According to Sri Mulyani, the government will continue to support the MBG program, especially not only in terms of budget, but also the capacity of the Nutrition Agency and its implementation, because providing more than 350.000 schools, more than 90 million students in Indonesia, for 5 days per week is not easy, either from the amount of budget and delivery.

"So I can imagine a lot of you here in this room who may have organized their children's wedding party," he said.

In his presentation, Sri Mulyani said there were three schemes from the distribution of MBG, namely those currently in effect, initial targets and expansion options.

Current Scheme (existing):

Timeline: January 2025

Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG): 220

SPPG Coverage: 3,000 Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries: 589,902 students, pregnant women and toddlers

Budget: IDR 71 trillion

Initial target scheme:

Timeline: December 2025

SPPG: 5,000

SPPG Coverage: 3,000-4,000 Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries: 15.5 million students, 2.4 million pregnant women and toddlers

Budget: IDR 71 trillion

Expansion options):

Timeline: December 2025

SPPG: 15,000 (moderates), 28,000 (optimals)

SPPG Coverage: 3,000 Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries: 40 million students, pregnant women and toddlers (moderates), 82.9 million students, pregnant women, and toddlers (optiistics)

Budget: IDR 71 trillion + IDR 100 trillion