The Free Meal Program () is Indonesia's free lunch program under the President Prabowo Subianto administration which has been running gradually since January 6, 2025. The program targets primary to high school/vocational students as well as pregnant and lactating women. Although it was designed with claims to improve people's nutrition and reduce stunting rates, the implementation of the program has drawn some criticism and rejection in various regions, especially because it caused poisoning cases.
Prior to the national rollout in 2025, Indonesia implemented several localised and smaller-scale school feeding programs. Since 1991, the government launched pilot programs as part of a poverty alleviation strategy, providing snacks to students in underdeveloped villages. This was expanded in 1996 to reach over 2 million students but was largely halted following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 2016, the Ministry of Education and Culture introduced the Nutrition Programme for School Children (PROGAS), which provided nutritious breakfasts to students in regions with high stunting rates.
The current large-scale free meal program was a flagship campaign promise of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka during the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. Originally proposed as "Makan Siang Gratis" (Free Lunch), the initiative aimed to address IndonesiaâÂÂs high stunting rate, which stood at approximately 21.5% in 2022. Following their election victory, the program's scope was expanded to include pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers, and the name was officially changed to Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) or Free Nutritious Meals to emphasize nutritional quality over the time of day the meal is served.
To manage the program, the government established the National Nutrition Agency (Badan Gizi Nasional or BGN) in August 2024. Throughout the latter half of 2024, the government conducted several pilot projects in cities like Tangerang and Sukabumi to test logistics and meal costs, which were estimated at approximately IDR 15,000 per portion.
The program officially launched nationwide on January 6, 2025. In its initial phase, it targeted approximately 15 to 20 million beneficiaries using a budget of IDR 71 trillion. The implementation utilises a "central kitchen" system (Satuan Pemenuhan Pelayanan Gizi), where meals are prepared in dedicated hubs and distributed to local schools. The Indonesian government aims to scale the program to reach 82.9 million people by 2029.
In March 2026, it was announced that the program would be scalled down due to "fiscal efficiency" concerns as a result of the 2026 Iran war.