The Free Nutritious Meals Program Has a Budget Line. Here's How It Compares With Other Spending
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4 min read
The free nutritious meals program (Makan Bergizi Gratis, or MBG) started 2026 with a budget of Rp335 trillion. That is more than five times what it spent the year before.
Then the number started to move. By mid-year it had been cut to Rp268 trillion, and later to Rp229 trillion.
This post looks at the free nutritious meals budget in 2026 in plain numbers. How big is it next to education, health and defence? How much has actually been spent? We do not take a side on the policy. We just put the figures in one place.
The 2026 state budget (APBN 2026) sets total spending at Rp3.842,7 trillion, according to Kontan. Of that, the government earmarked Rp335 trillion for MBG, as reported by Antara. The target was about 82 million people.
Reports say the program spent only Rp51,5 trillion in 2025. We saw that figure in a news summary, not in the budget document, so treat it as approximate.
A big number means little on its own. So here is each line as a share of the Rp3.842,7 trillion total. The percentages are our own division of the reported figures.
| Budget line (2026) | Amount | Share of total spending |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Rp757,8 trillion | about 19,7% |
| Defence | Rp424 trillion | about 11,0% |
| Energy subsidies | Rp402,4 trillion | about 10,5% |
| Free meals (MBG), original | Rp335 trillion | about 8,7% |
| Health | Rp244 trillion | about 6,3% |
| Village cooperatives and SMEs | Rp181,8 trillion | about 4,7% |
The line items come from news reports of the 2026 budget priorities, including Bisnis.com. Lines can overlap, so do not add the column up.
On this original figure, MBG was larger than the health line. It was about 44% of the education line.
This is where it gets confusing. Part of the MBG money counts toward the education budget.
Indonesia must spend 20% of its budget on education. Reports say about Rp223,5 trillion of the education line sits with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which runs MBG. That is about 47,5% of the Rp470,4 trillion in education money managed by the central government.
So when you hear "education got Rp757,8 trillion", a large slice of that is meals, not classrooms. That figure comes from a Bisnis.com report we saw only as a search summary.
The original Rp335 trillion did not last. Reports describe two cuts:
At Rp229 trillion, the program has about 68% of its original budget. That is a cut of Rp106 trillion, our own subtraction. The Finance Minister has also said further savings are possible, per news reports. We did not find a final number, so treat Rp229 trillion as the latest we could verify.
Spending lags the budget. Two data points we found:
One more report put spending at Rp177 trillion by 27 August. That does not fit the two above, so we left it out. Reports also use different ceilings (Rp229 and Rp218,77 trillion). Until the government publishes one reconciled figure, the exact share spent is unclear.
For an investor, the point is not whether MBG is good or bad. It is how much room the budget has.
A big new line, funded while revenue is tight, adds pressure. That pressure shows up in the deficit and in how many bonds the government sells. We explain that chain in how the budget deficit moves bond yields. Interest costs are the other squeeze, covered in how much revenue goes to debt interest.
The cuts matter too. Lower spending eases the deficit. But it also means the original plan was not fully carried out.
To follow the macro side yourself, open the NetWort macro page and watch the Indonesia 10-year yield and the BI policy rate. If budget worries grow, the yield is where you would see it first.