MBG (Makan Bergizi Gratis) Should Only Be Provided to Public Schools and Maintain the Quality of the Food

NINDYA IENAS TSUROYA (30802300018)

Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) is one of the government programs implemented in early 2025. This program provides one free meal a day during break time. The target recipients are students ranging from early childhood education to high school. This is done to support children's growth and development and improve their academic performance. Initially, this program was provided to children in public schools, but recently it has expanded to private schools, which already provide their own meals and portions that are nutritionally balanced. This has raised questions among the public about fairness in distribution and the nutritional content of the meals. 

Figure. 1

Source: CNBC Indonesia

           MBG (Free Nutritious Meals) recipients should indeed be evenly distributed across all provinces in Indonesia. However, if the recipients are not targeted appropriately, it will waste the budget that has been prepared by the government. Providing this program to public schools that do not yet have their own nutritious meal facilities is an appropriate target. However, if this program extends to private schools, strict selection is required to determine whether the school already provides its students with independent nutritious meals. This is because there are currently many private schools that already provide independent, nutritious meals. If private schools do not yet provide independent nutritious meals, then the provision of MBG would be appropriate for those schools. In addition, recently there have been many reports on social media that the food provided does not meet the nutritional requirements. This has caused parents to worry about the food their children eat at school.

One of the private elementary schools, SD Muhammadiyah 1 Ketelan Solo, has firmly rejected the MBG program because the school already has a healthy canteen that has been operating for 10 years. “Yes, we reject it because we already have a healthy canteen that has been tested. Alhamdulillah, there have been no problems, and the food is hygienic and healthy,” said one of the parents. The parents trust the healthy canteen provided by the school because the food is guaranteed to be safe, and in the 10 years it has been operating, there have been no complaints about food that is harmful to students. In addition, at SD IT Al-Izzah Serang, parents also rejected the MBG program entering the school. This was stated when the Serang city government visited the school due to receiving many protests against MBG entering the school. “We have paid the Education Development Contribution (SPP) and a large entrance fee, amounting to tens of millions. If we can afford that, why should there be MBG entering the school,” he said after a hearing with the Serang City Government (Pemkot). Parents from SD IT Al-Izzah Serang rejected the MBG because they felt capable and provided food costs to the school to be processed into more nutritious meals. Parents also felt that the MBG should be allocated to schools that truly need it.

MBG should only be intended for public schools, and the portions of food contained therein must be in accordance with nutritional standards. Although the MBG program has expanded to various types of schools, it should remain focused on public schools. This is because private schools usually already provide their own nutritious meals for their students, so distributing MBG in private schools that already have their own meals is not appropriate. The nutritional content of the meals must also be tested to ensure they meet the appropriate nutritional standards. Therefore, the distribution to private schools should be more selective, and every institution managing MBG should have a group of people who monitor nutritional standards and guarantee the quality of the food that will be distributed to students.

MBG (Makan Bergizi Gratis) should only be for public schools. If it is extended to private schools, further selection is needed to determine whether those private schools are eligible to receive it. The staff responsible for managing the food to be distributed should also be required to double-check the quality of the food. Suppose the MBG (Makan Bergizi Gratis) program is not fully effective and does not reach its intended target. In that case, the risk is that the budget allocated will be wasted and the food that has been distributed evenly will go to waste. 

REFERENCES

1. STIKES Husada Borneo. 2024. Makan Siang Gratis 2025: Seperti Apa Programnya?. https://stikeshb.ac.id/makan-siang-gratis-2025-seperti-apa-programnya/.

2. NV, Tara Wahyu. 2025. Ortu Siswa SD Swasta di Solo Tolak MBG, Pilih Bayar Rp 10 Ribu ke Dapur Sekolah. https://www.detik.com/jateng/berita/d-8135372/ortu-siswa-sd-swastadi-solo-tolak-mbg-pilih-bayar-rp-10-ribu-ke-dapur-sekolah.

3. Sari, Desi Purnama. 2025. Ortu Murid SDIT Al Izzah Tolak Anak Diberi MBG, Walkot Serang Bilang Begini. https://news.detik.com/berita/d-8138610/ortu-murid-sdit-al-izzahtolak-anak-diberi-mbg-walkot-serang-bilang-begini?page=2.