Politics · Indonesia · 17 hrs ago
Indonesia excludes food delivery vehicles from meal program cost cap
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency excluded delivery vehicles from the operating allowance for its free meals program.
The allowance is capped at Rp3,000 per recipient, with costs calculated from the number of people each kitchen serves.
The agency says kitchen operators must provide the vehicles along with kitchens and other equipment.
It says the decision returns to the original policy, after a 2025 rule allowed vehicle rental costs in the allowance.
An industry association wants the cap reviewed, saying remote areas face higher delivery costs and often serve fewer people.
The agency says the cap is meant to control spending, while the association is asking for special funding for remote regions.
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency says vehicles used to deliver meals are excluded from the daily operational cost cap of Rp3,000 per beneficiary.
The agency says delivery vehicles must be provided by the partners operating meal kitchens, like kitchen buildings and equipment.
The policy restores an arrangement used when the free nutritious meals program began, after a 2025 decision had included vehicle rental costs.
An association representing food and nutrition interests in disadvantaged regions has called for the Rp3,000 cap to be reviewed, citing higher logistics costs.
- Who
- Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and partners operating meal kitchens. The APGI3T association has called for a review of the cost cap.
- What
- Delivery vehicles for the free nutritious meals program are excluded from the Rp3,000-per-beneficiary operational cost cap and must be provided by kitchen operators’ partners.
- When
- BGN announced the policy on November 7. The article was published November 8, 2026.
- Where
- Indonesia.
- Why
- BGN says vehicles are required facilities for kitchens and should not be funded from the per-beneficiary operational cap. APGI3T says a uniform cap does not account for higher costs in remote regions.
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN)
APGI3T
Vehicle costs
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN)
Vehicles should be provided by meal-kitchen partners, not covered by the operational cost cap.
APGI3T
Not stated.
Operational cost cap
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN)
The cap is Rp3,000 per beneficiary.
APGI3T
The cap should be reviewed, especially for disadvantaged, outermost and frontier regions.
Applying the cap across regions
Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN)
Not stated.
APGI3T
A uniform limit does not account for differences in geography, beneficiary numbers and logistics costs.
APGI3T secretary-general Gardian Muhammad called for a review of the Rp3,000 operational cost cap, particularly for remote regions.
BGN spokesperson Tysa Novenny said delivery vehicles would not be included in the cap and should be provided by meal-kitchen partners.
- Operational cost cap
- Rp3,000 per beneficiary per day
- Program
- Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), or free nutritious meals
- Vehicle requirement
- Meal-kitchen partners must provide delivery vehicles
- 2025 decision
- BGN Decision No. 63 included vehicle rental costs in operational expenses
- Earlier decisions
- Deputy decisions No. 2 of 2024 and No. 1 of 2025 did not list vehicles as an operational cost
What people are saying
Removing vehicle costs from the operational ceiling of Rp3,000 per beneficiary per day is not new. We are restoring the policy as it should have applied when the MBG program was first launched.
In our view, the operational cost policy of Rp3,000 per beneficiary needs to be reviewed, especially if it is applied uniformly across all regions of Indonesia.