Gorontalo City, Kominfotik – The Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG) is having a significant impact on the regional economy in Gorontalo Province. It is recorded that approximately IDR 63 billion (around USD 4 million) in funds has already circulated through the procurement of food ingredients and kitchen operations.
The program involves 86 local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) as suppliers, two CV-shaped companies, and 38 social and educational foundations. Furthermore, the local transportation sector also receives allocation for food delivery costs, which in turn drives economic activity at the regional level.
”So for one SPPG (Nutritional Fulfillment Service Unit), the budget requirement per month is around 800 million to 1 billion Rupiah, according to need. So, that budget flows into Gorontalo Province and is received by the Gorontalo community itself,” said Zulkifli Taluhumala, Regional Coordinator of the National Nutrition Agency for Gorontalo Province, at the MBG evaluation meeting on Thursday (6/11/2025).
Currently, 22 SPPGs are operational and distributing nutritious meals to beneficiaries. Meanwhile, 19 other SPPGs are physically ready but cannot operate yet as they are still in the final stages of administration, such as processing the Hygiene and Sanitation Eligibility Certificates (SLHS), recruiting kitchen staff, and verifying operational documents. The number of active kitchens is expected to increase to 41 points soon, thus further expanding the MBG program’s nutritional service coverage across Gorontalo.
Reported by Mila
Translated by Fera
