Gianyar, Eyewitness | The Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program has a far greater impact than simply providing meals to schoolchildren. If all the MBG kitchens in Bali are achieved, at least 225 kitchens will be established, providing space for the involvement of approximately 14,000 volunteers. This program is believed to be a major investment by the state to foster Indonesia’s Golden Generation in 2045.
This big picture emerged at a meeting of the Bali Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) administrators held in Pering, Gianyar Regency, on Saturday (June 13, 2026). The event, attended by SPPG heads, regional coordinators, foundations, partners, suppliers, and volunteers from various regions in Bali, took place in a warm, family-like atmosphere, filled with surprises, games, and laughter. However, beneath the familiarity lay serious discussions about the future of one of the government’s flagship national strategic programs.
The head of the Kuta SPPG, Gung Ade, expressed his gratitude for the continued solidarity among all the program’s supporting elements.
“Thank God, tonight there were lots of surprises and exciting games. Don’t forget to update your story later so we can remember our time together today. I also want to thank everyone who collaborated, from the support team, suppliers who helped provide various needs, colleagues, and volunteers. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to continue to this day,” he said.
According to him, the quality of the SPPG’s human resources is the main asset in maintaining the continuity of services to the community.
“I think all our human resources are excellent. So, thank you to my friends. That’s all I can say,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Abadi Mandiri Pangan (AMP) Foundation, Anak Agung Istri Yuli Savita Sari, also known as Gek Yuli, explained the long journey of implementing MBG, from the challenges, the adaptation process, to the ambitious goals to be realized.
He expressed his appreciation to all the kitchen heads and administrators who have worked hard to ensure the service continues.
“Our foundation was able to open the kitchen and keep it running until now. In fact, today I also invited the regional coordinators. Why? Because our kitchen has been running until now, partly because we coordinate well,” he said.
Gek Yuli emphasized that communication, collaboration, and teamwork are the main keys to maintaining the program.
“Going forward, communication, teamwork, and collaboration will remain. That’s the most important thing in my opinion. Please maintain it. Hopefully, we can do even better in the future.”
He acknowledged that various obstacles will continue to arise. However, as long as all parties share the same goal, he is optimistic that all challenges can be overcome.
“Whatever the obstacles, when we are together, when we all have the same vision and mission, I am sure everything will be successful,” he said, to applause from the audience.
On that occasion, Gek Yuli also revealed the massive multiplier effect that MBG will have on the Balinese economy.
“This is just one kitchen and a few more. That means if Bali were to have 225 kitchens, just count them. That’s not including vendors, not including farmers, not including drivers who deliver food supplies,” he said.
According to his calculations, each kitchen employs an average of 60 to 70 people.
“That average is almost 60 to 70 people. With the existence of MBG, there are actually around 14,000 young people who can join MBG as volunteers,” he said.
Although they are called volunteers, Gek Yuli reminded them not to underestimate their importance. Protecting volunteers must be a shared concern.
“Improving their welfare must be our shared concern. We must ensure that accidents don’t happen and they don’t have BPJS (Social Security) rights or savings for the future. We must think together about how to accelerate this,” he stressed.
According to him, MBG is a very large state program and was born through an acceleration process.
“MBG is an acceleration program. This state program is an extraordinarily large program. There are certainly problems, there are dynamics. I won’t comment on that. But this program is fundamentally good,” he said.
He even admitted to having written a scientific study on the program’s implementation.
“I once wrote a paper about how this process works. Because the MBG is like a newborn baby that’s immediately forced to grow up, the adaptation process is very fast,” he said.
In the early stages, he said, the public didn’t fully understand the program’s objectives and mechanisms, leading to various criticisms. However, over time, improvements have been made.
“From what was initially considered wasteful, now it’s become more efficient, more efficient, more efficient,” he said.
Now, all parties are starting to focus on one common goal: to Ensure that services to beneficiaries continue to run optimally every day.
“Once everything is running, people start thinking about how to prepare for tomorrow, how to get supplies into the kitchen, how to ensure services continue,” he said.
Furthermore, Gek Yuli asked the public not to solely view the MBG in terms of the size of the government’s budget.
“Don’t think of this as just an investment with a large budget burn. The principle is to shape Indonesia in 2045,” he stressed.
He explained that Indonesian children need nutritional intake in accordance with academic studies to grow into a healthy, intelligent, and resilient generation.
“Our children today need the calorie intake required by academic studies. We must not produce a young generation that is talented, intellectually strong, but physically weak,” he said.
To illustrate the importance of adequate nutrition, Gek Yuli used a simple analogy from the world of sports.
“Imagine a child with an extraordinary mind and extraordinary talent, but after just 30 minutes of playing soccer, they’re already exhausted. Even though their abilities are great. That’s because their physical condition can’t be tested for 90 minutes,” he said.
He noted that this kind of situation is often seen in various matches.
“We often see soccer, volleyball, or other matches. The first half is amazing, they’re up by one goal, and everyone is optimistic about winning. But then, in the second half, they start to run out of energy and lose momentum. That’s what we want to prevent through the Free Nutritious Meal Program,” he concluded.
