December 24, 2025
JAKARTA – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has come under criticism for continuing its free nutritious meal program during the school holiday period with critics urging the government to suspend the program temporarily and reallocate its budget to assist disaster evacuees in Sumatra.
Charles Honoris, Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives’ Commission IX, which oversees health and social security affairs, called on the government to review the implementation of the program while schools are closed. He warned that the policy should not be driven solely by efforts to maximize budget absorption toward the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
“Rather than forcing the program to continue during a period when it is less relevant, wouldn’t it be wiser to redirect the funds to respond to other urgent needs?” Charles said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Charles argued that a temporary suspension of the free meal program would enable the government to reallocate its budget to more pressing priorities, such as disaster relief for flood victims in Sumatra and nutrition improvement initiatives in regions facing severe stunting.
Read also: Regions report rising food prices due to free meal program
Northern and western regions of Sumatra have suffered widespread devastation after the rare Cyclone Senyar formed in the Malacca Strait late last month. The cyclone brought a week of torrential rainfall and strong wind gusts, triggering extensive flooding and landslides across North Sumatra, Aceh and West Sumatra.
As of Monday, the disaster had claimed at least 1,106 lives, with 175 people still reported missing.
Data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) show that the floods and landslides have affected around 1.5 million people in the three provinces and forced approximately 1 million residents to evacuate.
More than 502,500 people remain displaced as of Monday, with many reporting limited access to humanitarian assistance.
Similar views were expressed by Agus Sartono, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta. He argued that suspending the free meal program during school holidays and reallocating its budget to Sumatra could bring significant benefits to residents affected by the disasters.
“Based on my calculations, around IDR 66 trillion could be saved if the program were paused during the 190 days of school holidays and weekends each year,” he said, as quoted by detik.com.
“This funding could be used to rebuild schools destroyed by disasters, provide cash assistance to residents who have lost their livelihoods and even construct permanent housing for displaced families,” he added.
Agus also questioned the effectiveness of the program during school holidays, especially as students or their parents must visit schools once or twice a week to collect packaged meals.
He argued that the system imposes unnecessary time and costs on both students and parents, preventing families from fully enjoying their holidays. He also warned that the program could result in food waste and significant budget inefficiencies.
Nailul Huda, Director of the Center for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), said the government could save around Rp 7.9 trillion by suspending the free meal program during the year-end school break.
“Wouldn’t it be wiser to temporarily redirect this budget to assist communities in Aceh, West Sumatra and North Sumatra who are currently facing hardship?” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co.
He also criticized the National Nutrition Agency’s (BNG) holiday distribution system, under which weekly meals are provided all at once rather than distributed daily. According to Nailul, this approach has led many free meal kitchens to rely on ultra-processed and packaged foods, such as biscuits, chips, bread and UHT milk, produced primarily by large corporations rather than small businesses, undermining the program’s original goal of supporting local economies.
He added that the use of such products also compromises the program’s aim of improving childhood nutrition. Studies show that frequent consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to poorer nutrition and a higher risk of obesity, dental problems and long-term health issues.
Read also: Calls grow to suspend free meal program after mass poisoning
BGN spokesperson Khairul Hidayati explained that the free meal program must continue during school holidays because the risk of malnutrition and stunting could increase if children’s diets are not closely monitored at home.
“Consistency is crucial in implementing the free meal program. We want to ensure that the holiday period does not become a risky time for children’s growth and development, and that they continue to receive nutritious meals,” Hidayati said on Sunday.
The agency also noted that parents, students and schools have the option to decline the packaged meals during the holiday period.