Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meals programme, Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), is still President Prabowo Subianto's largest single spending commitment. But its 2026 budget has been reduced to about Rp229 trillion, it reaches fewer people, its agency has changed head twice since June, and prosecutors are pursuing an alleged corruption case.

The budget: now about Rp229 trillion

In August 2025, then Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Rp335 trillion had been earmarked for MBG in 2026: Rp268 trillion for the National Nutrition Agency (Badan Gizi Nasional, BGN) and a Rp67 trillion reserve, Investortrust reported.

Accounts of what happened next differ. In May 2026, a senior adviser at the government's communications office (Bakom) said BGN's budget was "Rp268 trillion, no longer Rp335 trillion", calling it "a form of evaluation of MBG implementation", ANTARA reported (NDNews translation). BGN said the Rp67 trillion reserve had never been part of its budget and that its allocation had not been cut, Republika reported.

In July, BGN officials said efficiency measures would bring its budget to about Rp229 trillion, after BGN found schools served by more than one kitchen, Bisnis reported. Reuters had reported in June, citing unnamed sources, that a cut of more than US$2 billion was being considered (Malay Mail).

Stage Amount Source
Original 2026 MBG allocation (BGN Rp268 trillion + Rp67 trillion reserve) Rp335 trillion Finance ministry
BGN budget as stated by Bakom (May) Rp268 trillion ANTARA
Revised BGN budget (July–September) Rp229.75 trillion total, of which Rp218.77 trillion for MBG BGN
MBG spending to 16 September Rp139.77 trillion (63.89%) BGN

"Realisation of the MBG Programme budget up to 16 September 2026 has reached Rp139.77 trillion, or 63.89 percent of the Rp218.77 trillion ceiling," BGN head Sudaryono told parliament's Commission IX, ANTARA reported (NDNews translation). That leaves about Rp79 trillion for the last three and a half months of the year, according to BGN.

Fewer beneficiaries, more remote kitchens

The programme reached 56.99 million beneficiaries as of 31 August, 76.45% of a revised target of 74.56 million, BGN said. In May, Bakom had reported 62.7 million recipients against a target of 82.9 million (ANTARA); the May figure (Bakom) and the August figure (BGN) may be measured differently. BGN describes removing 1,653 schools from its list as "refocusing".

On 7 September, Sudaryono said 1,999 kitchens, known as SPPG (Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi), had been temporarily closed because they had not registered for a hygiene and sanitation certificate (SLHS) with their local health office, detik reported. According to the same report, BGN counted 27,022 kitchens after a data review.

Growth is now focused on remote areas. BGN said it activated 480 kitchens from 2 October, mostly in remote areas and areas with high rates of stunting, Lingkar.news reported. Reuters reported that 269 of the 480 are in 16 eastern provinces (Sowetan). Meanwhile, a moratorium on 13,000 new kitchens drew protests in July from kitchen operators' associations (Kontan, via Reuters).

From 5 October, kitchens receive Rp2,000 per meal served instead of a flat Rp6 million a day. Each Rp15,000 meal budget now splits into Rp10,000 for food, Rp3,000 for operations and Rp2,000 for the incentive, FIN reported.

Food safety

There is no single official national count of suspected food poisoning cases that NDNews could verify. Most media reports cite the education watchdog JPPI. It counted 43,838 suspected victims in 36 provinces from January 2025 to mid-August 2026, and 1,642 in just three days in early September, Fortune Indonesia reported. Reuters has put the figure at more than 50,000, without specifying the period (Sowetan). The civil-society coalition MBG Watch and the think tank Celios have called for the cases to be declared an extraordinary health event (KLB), Fortune Indonesia reported.

BGN has responded with certification and sanctions. "The SLHS requirement, hygiene and sanitation certification, is an absolute requirement for running a kitchen," Sudaryono said (detik; NDNews translation). The agency has also removed some kitchen heads and sanctioned kitchens, according to Fortune Indonesia. MBG Watch and Celios say these administrative steps do not address the systemic causes, Fortune Indonesia reported.

Audits and investigations

  • Attorney General's Office (Kejagung): On 2 June, President Prabowo replaced the BGN leadership, Bisnis reported. On 3 June, Kejagung named former BGN head Dadan Hindayana and two former deputy heads as suspects and detained them, in an alleged corruption case over the programme's management in 2025–2026, including the purchase of electric motorbikes and tablets, according to Kejagung's director of investigation, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi (CNBC Indonesia). Kejagung alleges that only 2,117 of about 21,000 motorbikes ordered had been delivered by March 2026, though records showed about 21,800 as complete (CNBC Indonesia). Asked about the alleged state losses, Anang Supriatna, head of Kejagung's legal information centre, said: "Roughly Rp10 trillion. Roughly." He added that the figure was calculated by the Finance and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), the government's internal auditor (IDX Channel; NDNews translation). detik reported that 11 suspects had now been named (detik). On 29 September, prosecutors said the case files of six suspects, including Dadan, had been handed to the Central Jakarta District Prosecutor's Office to prepare for trial (Metro TV). No court has yet heard the case. All suspects are presumed innocent unless convicted by a court.
  • Supreme Audit Agency (BPK): BPK gave BGN's 2025 financial statements an unqualified opinion (WTP), but some audit findings are still being followed up, a deputy head of BGN said, Bisnis reported. BGN spent Rp51.58 trillion in 2025, 60.49% of its budget.
  • Ombudsman: In June, the Ombudsman said that advice it gave in September 2025 on governance gaps and conflicts of interest in procurement had not been fully followed (Ombudsman RI).
  • Parliament (DPR): In September, a Commission IX member asked why the 2027 MBG budget would rise while the target number of recipients falls. She also questioned reports that less than the official Rp15,000 per meal reaches children (Fortune Indonesia).

Economic impact: support for growth, pressure on the budget

Supporters point to the programme's effect on demand. Indonesia's economy grew 5.29% in the second quarter, and a Bank Permata economist said MBG helped support both household and government spending. Finance ministry data showed Rp98.8 trillion spent on MBG in the first half of 2026, ANTARA reported. In June, the World Bank listed the programme as one driver of first-quarter consumption. It also warned that relying on consumption to support growth comes with risks, given increasingly limited fiscal space (Bisnis).

In July, the finance ministry raised its 2026 deficit outlook to 2.85% of GDP, close to the 3% legal limit. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said: "We will make sure that our budget stays under control and the deficit will be below 3%" (detikFinance; NDNews translation). Earlier, in March, he had named cutting MBG as one option if higher oil prices widened the deficit (DPR). For background, see our report on how the Iran war is hitting Asia's economies.

For local suppliers, Presidential Regulation 115/2025 says kitchens must not refuse produce from small farmers, breeders and fishers without good reason (BGN), and BGN wants each kitchen to use at least 15 suppliers (Suara Surabaya). But Reuters reported in August that some investors who built remote kitchens had fallen into debt after payments were delayed and restructured (Geo News, via Reuters).

Key numbers

  • About Rp229 trillion: BGN's revised 2026 budget, against an original MBG earmark of Rp335 trillion that included a Rp67 trillion reserve
  • Rp139.77 trillion: MBG spending to 16 September (63.89%)
  • 56.99 million: beneficiaries as of 31 August (target 74.56 million)
  • 1,999: kitchens temporarily closed over hygiene certification
  • 43,838: suspected poisoning victims, January 2025 to mid-August 2026 (JPPI count, not official)
  • About Rp10 trillion: state losses Kejagung alleges in the corruption case (BPKP calculation)
  • Rp240.2 trillion: BGN's 2027 budget, the largest of any ministry or agency

What happens next

Parliament passed the 2027 budget on 29 September (ANTARA). BGN will receive Rp240.2 trillion, of which about Rp232.5 trillion is for MBG, to reach about 72.46 million people, RMOL reported. The government's August budget notes gave a target of 72.1 million (CNN Indonesia).

What to watch:

  1. Year-end spending: whether BGN spends the remaining Rp79 trillion, or whether money is returned to the treasury.
  2. The corruption case: when the trial opens at the Jakarta anti-corruption court, and whether the court accepts the BPKP loss estimate.
  3. Food-safety data: whether the government publishes an official national count of incidents, and how many closed kitchens reopen.
  4. The deficit: whether 2026 ends below 3% of GDP (see our Indonesia vs Thailand economy comparison).

This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. It is based on official data and media reports as of 7 October 2026.