Allocation Of IDR 15,000 Per Child In MBG Program Potentially Press Food Quality

Illustration of free bergizi meals (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Free Nutrition Food Program (MBG) is predicted to be a major social breakthrough in strengthening the nutrition of school children, improving the quality of education, as well as empowering local economies.

But behind these good intentions, major challenges arise in cost efficiency and food quality supervision that determines whether this program is truly healthy or at risk.

The government set an allocation of IDR 15,000 per child per day, consisting of IDR 10,000 for raw materials and IDR 5,000 for production and distribution costs. However, according to Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW), the scheme is almost unrealistic when compared to the current market price of foodstuffs.

"With the price of medium rice of Rp. 12,000/kg (100 grams/porsion = Rp. 1,200), chicken or fresh fish Rp. 40,000/kg (50 grams/porsion = Rp. 2,000), vegetables and fruit of Rp. 1,500, and eggs of half an egg of Rp. 1,500, the total raw material has reached Rp. 6,000' Rp. 6,500. That does not include spices, oil, and packaging, "explained Iskandar Sitorus, Secretary of Founder of IAW, Sunday, October 19.

With a very thin safe margin, the risk of decreasing material quality, unhygienic storage, and the potential for mass poisoning is wide open. Several incidents of poisoning by school children in a number of areas have raised concerns that food safety standards (HACCP) have not been implemented in a disciplined manner in the MBG kitchen.

"On paper, the social equalizer closes the gap between children from rich and poor families. But without a strong logistics chain and cross-sectoral supervision, good intentions can turn into food disasters," said Iskandar.

The school food distribution chain has a tight time limit, less than 90 minutes between recitation and consumption. Without a cooling delivery and hygienic containers, food is at risk of damage before it reaches the hands of students.

In addition, IAW highlighted the dominance of national vendors in a number of MBG procurements, which have the potential to erode opportunities for local MSMEs, even though the initial spirit of MBG is to build a community economy.

If a clustered painting pattern is applied, each sub-district can have a local kitchen based on cooperatives, farmers, and MSME actors. The double effect is extraordinary: farmers are absorbed, labor grows, and schools become a center for nutrition education," he said.

With an average of 3,000'3,500 children per kitchen, the production cost of IDR 5,000 per child means an operational fund of around IDR 15'17.5 million per day per kitchen. If divided into 47 workers, their daily wages are only around IDR 110'170 thousand, a figure that is considered to be pressing kitchen players to reduce cleaning and energy costs.

Therefore, IAW assesses that the government needs to strengthen audit and regulatory aspects, including separating material and logistics costs so that the quality of materials is not sacrificed, building a real-time food nutrition and security audit system, strengthening cross-sectoral supervision from the Health Office, Education Office, and the UMKM Service, and requiring public transparency of menus, vendors, and the results of food laboratory tests.

"MBG must be a smart social heritage, not a short-term project. Every plate of school children should contain not only rice and side dishes, but also honesty, professionalism, and state responsibility," said Iskandar.

On the other hand, IAW also highlighted other public service problems that are still lagging behind, such as the long queue BPJS Kesehatan, which shows that improving the national social system still faces major challenges in implementing and equitable services.

"If the MBG kitchen is a nation's laboratory, then the BPJS queue is a reflection of our social services, both of which demand discipline, transparency, and governance in favor of the people," he concluded.