Who bear the cost of Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG)?

President Prabowo Subianto launched Indonesia's ambitious free school meal program, Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), shortly after the beginning of his term in office. On paper, the concept was straightforward, to give schoolchildren a lunch meal high in nutrition. It was intended to be inclusive, reaching kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds and guaranteeing that they would have a sufficient and healthy meal at least once a day. It sounded too good to be true, a small but significant move in the direction of better child nutrition and supporting local economies.

© Merdeka.com

I followed it closely during the campaign, struck by the scale of the promise and very sceptical about the implementation of it. Prabowo and his team framed it as a transformational program; benefiting millions of children, local kitchen businesses gaining guaranteed markets, and a generation growing stronger, smarter, and more resilient. It was sold as a sign that the government cared for its most vulnerable citizens.

My first concern was that MBG, ambitious as it was, will generate massive food waste simply because of the logistical challenges of handling meals on a large scale. Indonesia’s infrastructure, distribution networks, and oversight mechanisms are not yet equipped to manage a program this massive. Ironically, the issue that eventually emerged was far worse than waste, but food safety, the very center of what the program’s promised to achieve.

As the program rolled out, cracks began to show. By 2025, Reports of widespread food poisoning started to circulate. In July 2025, twelve students in Manokwari had symptoms of food poisoning after eating MBG meals. The number grew exponentially, this month in Garut, around 500 students became ill after consuming MBG meals. Across the country, young recipients became ill, victims of the very program designed to support them. Inadequate storage, unsafe food handling practices, poor hygiene, and even undercooked meals or leftovers that were reused were reported. Many kitchens were opened more quickly than they could be certified and monitored, with employees who were not properly trained in food safety procedures operating those kitchens. The people who were supposed to gain the most—the children—became the victims. What was supposed to give families opportunity and sustenance instead caused them to visit the hospital, feel uncomfortable, and experience anxiety. Even worse, there have been reports of officials trying to stifle criticism by asking parents to sign waivers against lawsuits or discouraging complaints in an effort to preserve the program's reputation. It became evident that protecting the program's reputation took precedence over protecting the recipients' health.

The contrast between promise and reality was jarring.Crafting a vision and campaign of equality and nourishment to a nation is simple; delivering it to every village, school, and lunchbox is much more difficult. It demands careful planning, decentralized coordination, strict oversight and above all, humility in admitting and addressing failures — those are all things that Indonesia’s current systems are not equipped for. The meticulous details; such as cold storage facilities, hygiene training, monitoring systems, and accountability frameworks, are what make large-scale welfare programs more than just well-meaning plans and financial commitments. No central ministry could possibly monitor every kitchen or examine every dish. Such initiatives call for decentralization, bringing accountability and supervision closer to the subject. They also call for humility—the understanding that no effort of this magnitude can ever be flawless and that errors must be acknowledged and immediately fixed.

None of these attributes existed on the scale that MBG required. Instead, while systemic flaws remained unaddressed, we witnessed a race to demonstrate rapid results and declare political victories. Children, who were supposed to have been the intended recipients of this hopeful experiment, became a cautionary lesson of what happens when good intentions are not accompanied with meticulous planning and accountability. Indonesia wanted a story of care; for now, it remains a lesson in the consequences of scale without preparedness.

Author:

Ivana Carynthia Ligo graduated in Sustainable International Agriculture from University of Göttingen.