Free Nutritious Meals Program Faces Setbacks: Mass Food Poisoning and Unpaid Vendors

President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship initiative, the Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG), has encountered several operational challenges nearly four months into its launch. Issues range from mass student poisoning incidents to complaints from unpaid kitchen partners.

The first major incident was recorded in January 2025 when 40 students from SDN Dukuh 03 Sukoharjo, Central Java fell ill after consuming meals from the program. More recently, a similar case occurred in Cianjur, West Java, affecting 79 students from MAN I Cianjur and SMP PGRI I Cianjur. They received treatment at Sayang and Bhayangkara Hospitals and have since returned home, under continued medical supervision.

The local health agency has shared data with nearby health centers to ensure proper follow-up. Authorities are still waiting for lab results on food and vomit samples, assisted by the provincial health office, to determine the cause.

Kitchen Vendor Unpaid, Files Police Report

Financial issues have also plagued the program. A kitchen partner in Kalibata, South Jakarta was forced to shut down due to non-payment by the MBG Foundation. Lawyer Danna Harly stated that his client, Ira, spent nearly Rp1 billion preparing over 65,000 meal portions but has yet to receive any reimbursement.

The agreed price per meal was Rp15,000, later reduced arbitrarily to Rp12,500 or Rp10,500 per portion. Claiming financial losses, Ira’s legal team filed a complaint with Polda Metro Jaya, registered under report number LP/B/1160/IV/2025.

BGN’s Response: Focus on Prevention and Partner Evaluation

Dadan Hindayana, Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), attributed the suspected cause of the food poisoning to poor food handling, particularly preparation done too early before consumption, increasing the risk of contamination.

Instead of enforcing strict penalties, BGN will prioritize training and preventive measures in the affected areas. Regarding the unpaid kitchen partner, Dadan labeled it an internal issue between the foundation and vendor. Moving forward, BGN aims to tighten partner selection criteria and improve overall coordination, with the goal of ensuring the MBG program benefits its target recipients effectively and transparently.