BGN Starts Saluring Free Nutrition Food To People's Schools, Proposes Nutrition To Enter The Mandatory Curriculum

JAKARTA The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has begun to integrate the Free Nutrition Food Program (MBG) into the People's School, a new educational program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto. This step is intended to ensure that children from poor and extreme poor families have access to quality education as well as a regular balanced nutritional intake.

BGN Special Staff, Redy Hendra Gunawan, stated that the launch of the People's School on Monday, July 14 was immediately accompanied by the gradual distribution of the MBG program in these schools. To date, there have been 848 People's School students who have become MBG beneficiaries.

"Together with the launch of the People's School, BGN has distributed MBG to these schools. The number of beneficiaries will continue to grow as the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) increases in various regions," said Redy in Jakarta, Saturday, July 19.

The scheme for feeding at People's Schools is different from public schools. If a public school receives only one lunch, People's School students get three meals (vace, lunch, dinner) and two morning and evening snacks.

BGN has also prepared supporting infrastructure to support the distribution of nutritious food. From the results of the mapping, currently there are 16 SPPGs that are ready to run services for the People's School. Two of them, SPPG Margahayu and SPPG Graha Prima Kencana, have even been used as pilot projects by serving thousands of beneficiaries from various levels of education.

Meanwhile, nationally, the MBG Program showed significant developments. As of this weekend, the number of SPPGs operating has reached 2,109 units, an increase of 111 units since the beginning of the week. The total beneficiaries of MBG have now crossed the number of 6,379,433 people spread throughout Indonesia.

Not only about the distribution of nutritious food, but BGN also encourages the strengthening of structural nutrition education in the educational environment. In a separate statement, the BGN Nutrition Expert Council, Ikeu Tanziha, revealed that it has proposed to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) that nutrition education be used as a mandatory lesson in schools.

'Gizi is not just a matter of food, but a matter of the future. Children who understand nutrition will grow healthy, think sharply, and be able to contribute to the nation," said Ikeu.

He considered schools to be the ideal educational space to systematically transfer nutritional knowledge. Nutrition education will include topics such as basic nutritional concepts, food grouping, the role of nutrients, and the bad effects of unhealthy eating habits.

In addition to theory, students will also be equipped with practical skills such as simple cooking and gardening, which are relevant to everyday life. Ikeu believes nutrition education will be an important provision for students in making healthy decisions related to diet, as well as being a preventive tool for non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

"Education of nutrition from an early age creates a positive synergy between schools, families, and the community. This is an important step towards the Indonesian Golden Generation 2045," he added.

As part of public education efforts, BGN is also actively socializing the importance of nutrition through various media channels, such as podcasts on YouTube, educational videos with kitchen and school backgrounds, as well as campaigns in traditional markets.

With the integration of MBG and nutrition education in People's Schools, as well as proposals for a compulsory nutrition curriculum, BGN hopes to lay a strong foundation to form a healthier, smarter, and competitive generation of Indonesia in the future.