November 13, 2025 | 07:49 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf announced that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program for the elderly and people with disabilities will target approximately 100,000 senior citizens, beginning next year.
The Minister, affectionately known as Gus Ipul, explained that this initiative is a continuation and adaptation of the Ministry of Social Affairs' existing free meals program.
"We will adjust it to provide nutritious meals specifically for the elderly and people with disabilities. We are targeting 100,000 elderly individuals, primarily those who are neglected and over 75 years old. Secondly, people with disabilities who are genuinely in need of assistance," Gus Ipul stated in South Jakarta on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
Unlike the free nutritious meals managed by the National Nutrition Body, the ministry's initiative will be overseen by community groups. Each community group will be responsible for serving approximately 40 to 70 elderly individuals living in its vicinity.
"The priority is clear: elderly individuals over 75 years old who are living alone," Gus Ipul emphasized.
The proposal for the MBG program was presented by the Minister of Social Affairs to President Prabowo Subianto during a limited meeting on the empowerment of social assistance recipients at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Gus Ipul affirmed that this program represents a transformation of the previous ministry's free meals initiative.
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