Prabowo: Free Meals Program to Surpass McDonald’s Daily Output Within a Month

Davos: President Prabowo Subianto highlighted the rapid expansion of Indonesia’s Free Nutritional Meals Program (MBG) during his address at the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The government’s flagship social initiative now serves tens of millions of beneficiaries each day and is expected to surpass the global daily food output of McDonald’s within a month.

Speaking before global leaders and business executives, Prabowo said the MBG program is the result of sweeping reforms in state budget management. At the start of his administration, the government implemented aggressive efficiency measures by terminating programs deemed ineffective or inefficient.

“In the first two months of my administration, we saved approximately USD 18 billion and redirected those funds to programs that directly improve people’s lives,” Prabowo said.

Following the efficiency drive, the government launched the Free Nutritional Meals Program on January 6, 2025. The program targets pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, infants, all Indonesian children, and elderly citizens living alone.

On its first day, the program operated through 190 kitchens, producing around 570,000 meals per day. Within a year, the network expanded sharply to 21,102 kitchens nationwide.

“Today, we are producing 59.8 million meals every day for children, mothers, and the elderly across Indonesia,” Prabowo said.

He added that within about a month, the program’s capacity is projected to reach 68 million meals per day, exceeding McDonald’s estimated global daily output. This year, the government is targeting distribution of up to 82.9 million meals daily.

“All Indonesian children, from the womb until the age of 18, benefit from this program,” he said, adding that meals are delivered directly to the homes of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and elderly individuals living alone.

Beyond improving nutrition, Prabowo noted that the MBG program has also become a major driver of economic activity. More than 61,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as large companies, are now part of the program’s supply chain.

The government estimates that more than 600,000 jobs have already been created through the operation of MBG kitchens. At full capacity, the program is expected to generate up to 1.5 million direct jobs, excluding employment from suppliers and vendors.

According to Prabowo, the success of MBG demonstrates that large-scale social welfare programs can be implemented alongside strong and sustainable economic growth.