Makassar – The first day of the Free School Meals programme was implemented smoothly in 26 provinces and left a good impression on the students, one of which was in Makassar.

An elementary school student slipped a message of gratitude for Prabowo in his food dish, which was later found by the kitchen staff when they were cleaning the food dish.

Various variants of nutritious menus are served today in schools, such as rice, meat, fruits, vegetables, and milk.

‘Thank you Mr Prabowo. You are the best president,’ the student wrote on a small piece of paper torn from his notebook.

The sentence was accompanied by an image of a heart, which is a universal symbol to reflect love, affection, joy, and contentment.

The government targets the MBG programme to reach three million beneficiaries between January and March 2025, consisting of toddlers, santri, students of PAUD, kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, high school, and pregnant and lactating mothers.

The number will continue to grow until it reaches 15 million by the end of 2025.

In addition, as many as 190 Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) aka kitchens began operating today to supply the MBG menu. SPPG itself is an MBG programme implementation unit tasked with supplying food for programme beneficiaries.

As is known, the Free Nutritious Meal programme has started running in 26 provinces, including Aceh; Riau Islands; all provinces in Java; West Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, North Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, to West Papua, and South Papua.

The SPPG works with a nutritionist and an accountant to ensure strict monitoring of the nutritional quality and smooth distribution of the food. In addition, SPPG is also tasked with overseeing hygiene standards, nutrition management, and waste management in each MBG kitchen.

To support sustainability, serving trays are designed using hygienic and reusable stainless steel. (RR)