ASEAN Beat | Economy | Southeast Asia

Targeting ‘Budget Efficiency,’ Indonesia Announces Changes to Free Meal Program

The scheme, which aims to provide free meals to 83 million children and pregnant women across the country, has faced scrutiny due to its high cost.

In this photo released by Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN), President Prabowo Subianto speaks with children at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jun. 15, 2026.

Indonesia has announced a number of changes to its Free Nutritious Meals program, a flagship policy of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, in order to reduce the pressure on the government budget.

Agustina Arumsari, deputy head ​of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which is administering the multibillion-dollar program, said late Thursday that the program would be suspended during the upcoming school holidays from June 22 to July 13, and all future school holidays, Reuters reported.

The changes were about “budget efficiency” and would also “ensure that every resource owned by the state truly provides optimal benefits for the groups in need,” she added.

The agency will also stop ​funding meals for around 39,000 students in 76 schools in areas judged to ​have the economic capacity to meet nutritional needs, and shift the capacity to students in remote areas. The government plans to propose reducing the budget allocated to the program for 2027.

“We think ​the figure is ⁠too big,” Arumsari said, Reuters reported. “With the budget we have, we can cut back and make it more efficient.”

Suspending the service during the school holidays is expected to save the BGN more than 3 trillion rupiah ($168 million) in the upcoming holiday period, and Agustina added that the hiatus would give officials a chance to reassess the scheme and “ensure that the free nutritious meal program becomes more accurately targeted.”

The Free Nutritious Meals program, known by its Indonesian acronym MBG, was among Prabowo’s main campaign promises during the presidential election of 2024. Its aim is to provide free meals to 83 million children........

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