Ilustrasi Berbagai Protes terhadap MBG dan BGN
Jakarta, desabersuara.id – The headquarters of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) in Jakarta has become a daily gathering point for waves of protests. The near-daily demonstrations highlight governance problems and delays in fund disbursement in the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
BGN head Sudaryono openly acknowledged that his office is almost never without protesters. Presenting his 100-day evaluation on Friday, 30 October 2026, he said the groups come in turns with different backgrounds and demands. On Mondays, protests are led by MBG program applicants, followed by kitchen partners on Tuesdays, students on Wednesdays and kitchen construction contractors seeking payment on Thursdays. The protests intensified after BGN tightened budget controls in the MBG program. Sudaryono responded lightheartedly, joking that from Monday to Friday not a single group had come to express support for the program.
On the ground, however, the situation has escalated. On Monday, 2 November 2026, protests were again held in front of the BGN office, this time by owners of Nutrition Service Units (SPPG). They loudly complained about repeated delays in operating fund disbursements and said they could not continue preparing and distributing meals if payments kept being postponed without certainty.
The liquidity and disbursement problems are the result of earlier crises. In late August, a similar commotion broke out when the 3T Indonesian Food and Nutrition Association demanded certainty over bridging funds for building SPPGs. Many SPPG operators in the regions said they had to borrow money and use billions of rupiah of their own funds to build kitchens to standard.
At the same time, BGN is under heavy pressure over budget audits and preventing leaks. In mid-October, it suspended the operations of 91 SPPGs because their operators had not followed up on Audit Board (BPK) findings concerning MBG funds of Rp18.19 billion that must be returned to the state treasury. This tighter enforcement and auditing is believed to be one of the main causes of delayed fund flows to legitimate kitchen partners in the regions.
The tug-of-war between BGN’s budget enforcement and kitchen partners’ demands for payment directly threatens the continuity of the Free Nutritious Meals program. If the liquidity crunch is not resolved soon, thousands of meal portions meant for schoolchildren risk not being distributed because SPPG operations come to a halt.
