Previously, the free meals program operated six days a week even though most schools only run on a five-day schedule. Under the new policy, the BGN has reduced distribution to five days a week to align with school operating days in most regions. 

The agency has also ended meal distribution during school holidays and public breaks, when kitchens previously handed out packaged food for students to take home.

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“The concept is that free nutritious meals are provided when students are at school. So if they are on school breaks or engaged in activities outside, the meals will not be distributed,” BGN deputy head Sony Sonjaya said in a statement earlier this week.

The measure forms part of the government’s broader budget efficiency policy, with the program’s 2026 allocation cut from Rp 335 trillion (US$18.77 billion) to Rp 268 trillion. 

The measures were aimed at creating a fiscal buffer against external pressures amid rising global energy prices fueled by geopolitical tensions following the United States-Israel war on Iran. 

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