Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) clarified that the construction of 14 thousand new dedicated kitchens to support the government’s Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program has been entirely funded by private partners, not the state budget.

Speaking at a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday evening, Head of BGN, Hindayana, emphasized that around Rp28 trillion has already circulated in communities for the infrastructure for MBG program kitchens, known as Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPGs) — all sourced from partners.

“They built everything independently. If we convert their efforts into monetary value, the cost of establishing one SPPG ranges between Rp1.5 billion to Rp2 billion. Hence, the money already circulating in communities has reached nearly Rp28 trillion, and that is not from the state budget, but from partners funding,” he elaborated.

“Hence, in various regions, building supply stores are seeing a surge in construction material purchases to build these SPPGs, and that is purely funded by our partners,” he explained.

Hindayana then listed several BGN partners involved in building the SPPGs, including the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), the Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, the National Police (Polri), the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

While the MBG program has only absorbed around Rp8.2 trillion, Hindayana explained that those funds are strictly allocated for nutritional interventions, while the physical service units are constructed separately by BGN’s partners.

Related news: Free Nutritious Meal part of fulfilling human rights: Minister Pigai

“So far, the MBG program itself has only absorbed Rp8.2 trillion, which has been focused solely on providing nutritional interventions, while the service units are physical buildings constructed by our partners. Therefore, the total amount of money circulating in the community is indeed quite substantial,” he remarked.

The BGN head also noted that currently, some restaurant, cafe, catering, and even hotel owners are voluntarily converting their operations into SPPGs to participate in the Free Nutritious Meal program.

“Normally, a restaurant might serve around 500 customers. Now, once they are converted into an SPPG, they can serve up to 3,500 meal portions daily, and not a single customer dines in at the restaurant. Instead, meals are delivered directly to schools or to homes of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers,” Hindayana stated.

Related news: Gov't eyes 20 million MBG recipients served by Independence Day