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View all search resultsNearly 900 free meals kitchens shut under new chief’s overhaul
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has shut nearly 900 kitchens for the free nutritious meals program and dismissed hundreds of employees in its first sweeping governance overhaul under newly appointed agency head Sudaryono, amid declining public confidence in the program.
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Staff prepare lunch plates on the first day of the free nutritious meal program at a kitchen in Bogor, West Java, on Jan. 6, 2025. (AFP/Aditya Aji)
T
he National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has shut nearly 900 kitchens for the free nutritious meal program and dismissed hundreds of employees in its first sweeping governance overhaul under newly appointed agency head Sudaryono, amid declining public confidence in the program.
Sudaryono, a politician from President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party, cited violations ranging from poor hygiene and failure to comply with operational standards to inadequate wastewater treatment facilities as reasons behind the “permanent” closure of the total of 883 kitchens, out of more than 28,000 nationwide.
The closures affected 98 kitchens in Sumatra, 311 across Java and Madura and 474 throughout Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.
Sudaryono said the agency would not tolerate kitchen heads who solicited kickbacks from partners or suppliers, warning that the BGN would take action against those procuring food ingredients at inflated prices.
“Anyone found committing such violations will be dealt with firmly. If the allegations are proven, we will dismiss them and suspend or shut down their kitchen,” he told reporters on Monday.
The measures came less than a week after Sudaryono was appointed to lead the agency following the resignation of his predecessor, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, due to health reasons after less than two months in office.
The agency has faced mounting scrutiny since its rollout in early 2025 over mass food poisoning cases and governance problems, culminating in the arrest of former BGN head Dadan Hindayana and two of his deputies in a corruption investigation linked to the multitrillion-rupiah program.
