Indonesia's free meals program has a design flaw, not just corrupt officials

Indonesia's free meals program for school children is huge and expensive, and a new study says its deepest problem is how it is built. The program, called Makan Bergizi Gratis, now costs about Rp268 trillion (around US$14.7 billion) a year, close to 7 percent of the entire state budget. It feeds 62.4 million people through 27,208 local kitchens, already more than the 21,000 the government first planned.

President Prabowo recently replaced the program's leaders after the former head, Dadan Hindayana, and two deputies were charged with rigging contracts and stealing funds. But in an analysis for the Singapore think tank ISEAS, Made Supriatma argues that changing the people at the top misses the real fault. The waste is built into the system, not caused by a few bad officials. Each kitchen is run by a private operator that is officially "non-profit", yet still keeps about Rp2,000 of the Rp15,000 spent on every meal, plus a daily payment of Rp6 million for 313 days a year. That turns feeding children into a reliable business, and in several areas relatives of politicians control dozens of kitchens each. Economists call this "rent-seeking": making money from a government scheme without adding real value.

The cost shows up in the food. Since 2025, more than 33,000 students have gotten sick from meals served by the program. Supriatma says a real fix means ending this "foundation-contractor model", letting local communities help run and check the kitchens, and adding independent audits. He doubts it will happen soon: the new agency head, Nanik S. Deyang, is a former tabloid journalist with little experience running a large organization. You can read his full argument at Fulcrum.

Why it matters

If you have children in school, the meals they eat come from this system every day, and the sickness cases show the quality problem is real, not just paperwork. As long as the program keeps taking close to 7 percent of the budget while money leaks to well-connected operators, there is less for schools, health, and other help families rely on. Watch whether the new leadership touches the kitchen contracts or only changes the nameplate.