JAKARTA - The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana stated that Free Nutrition Meals (MBG) would still be given according to the number of days students attend school and stop being distributed when they are on vacation.
Dadan's statement was made in response to the proposal for efficiency of the MBG Program by reducing the number of food distributions to five days a week, which is considered to have the potential to save the state budget up to Rp. 40 trillion per year.
"Especially for schoolchildren, MBG will be distributed if they attend school. If the school is five days, they will get MBG for five days, while if there is a school that is six days, then MBG is given six days. Based on the data available, the majority of schools are five days," he said as reported by ANTARA, Friday, March 27.
Dadan emphasized that in 2026, BGN focuses on improving quality, such as President Prabowo Subianto's instructions, which are also one of the efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the program.
"The basis for distributing MBG is in the form of fresh food ready to eat and delivered to the beneficiary location based on the list that has been recorded. For pregnant women, nursing mothers, and toddlers to posyandu or home, while students to their respective schools. Students and other religious schools to their places of study. If it's a holiday, then MBG stops being distributed," he explained.
Previously, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the efficiency of the MBG Program has the potential to save the state budget up to Rp. 40 trillion per year.
The efficiency is planned to be carried out by reducing the number of operational days. The provision of MBG is proposed to be five days a week from the previous six days.
"Usually a week (MBG) is six days, he (the Head of BGN) said five days. So there is also efficiency from MBG, there is quite a lot of reduction. He just said it could (save) Rp40 trillion a year," said Minister of Finance Purbaya.
According to him, this step shows BGN's efforts to carry out budget efficiency in the midst of an economic condition that is turbulent due to global geopolitical conflicts.
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